The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
by PrioritiesSorted
Summary: "The whole place just smells of... of bigotry and oppression."   "Funny, I just thought it smelled of mothballs and dust." Remus observed.
1. Old Friends

_**A/N - Hello everyone :) So I've always wondered what was going on at Number 12 while Harry was busy watching the News and fighting Demntors in Little Whinging. So I thought I'd write my version of events. It's more like a series of one-shots than a continuous storyline, but they are roughly in chronological order and I'm thinking Marauders and Weasley twins and Romione-spending-time-without-Harry-related-tension. **_

___**Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I don't own Harry Potter. **_

"You are eventually going to say something, aren't you, Sirius?"

Remus Lupin had been halfway through making a cup of tea before he realised it had been too long since he'd spent time with Sirius, and went to get the Firewhisky. He poured a generous measure into a crystal tumbler and set it before his silent friend. Sirius took a long drink and sighed.

"You aren't going to leave me alone until I talk to you, are you?"

"Nope." Replied Remus, "Besides, it isn't as though I have anywhere better to be."

"I'd rather be anywhere but here."

"Ah. Now we reach the crux of the matter. The Great Sirius Black doesn't appreciate Dumbledore grounding him." Remus said, leaning back in his chair. "Tell me, Padfoot, at what point did you think you'd be strolling through the Ministry on patrol with the rest of us. I know it must be frustrating but..."

"Must be frustrating? For Merlin's sake, Moony, I bloody well know I can't stick my head out of this front door without risking my neck, but it's this particular door I can't stand. The whole place just smells of... of bigotry and oppression." Sirius exclaimed, standing up and beginning to pace the long kitchen.

"Funny, I just though it smelled of moths and dust." Remus observed, taking a sip of his own Firewhisky (the tea was long forgotten).

"Are you actually _enjoying _this, Lupin?" Sirius spat, turning to his companion, who looked honestly back at him,

"Of course I'm not enjoying it. You're in a foul mood. I came over here because I thought you'd enjoy the company and we could make up for the last thirteen years we've spent without contact, but apparently, you'd rather mope around complaining about your terrible lot, when Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore risked their necks to get you out of harm's way."

"You always knew just how to guilt me." Sirius said, collapsing back into his chair and brandishing his empty glass, indicating that he would like a refill.

"It's a gift." Said Remus dryly as he refilled both glasses.

"So, what exactly is there to catch up on? I've been in Askaban and a cave for the last thirteen years."

"I have a life too, you know. I might have found myself a woman or something." Remus said, defensively.

"Well, have you?" Sirius prompted.

"Don't be ridiculous. I was actually thinking we could talk about Harry."

"Ah. The Boy Wonder. God he's like James." Sirius said, and there was more than a hint of wistfulness in his voice.

"In some ways. That's certainly what I thought when I first met him, although without the arrogance, and that stupid habit of messing up his hair." Remus said contemplatively, "But the more I got to know him, the more he reminded me of Lily. He's got her sense of justice."

"I only hope that doesn't get him into more trouble than he's already in." Sirius said, and Remus nodded in agreement.

"I don't think you'll have much luck with that one, Padfoot. If there's one thing he got from James, that's his nose for trouble."  
>Sirius couldn't help but smile at that, but it didn't last long.<p>

"Remus, do you think the prophecy..."

Sirius didn't need to finish the sentence, both wizards knew exactly what he was implying, though neither wanted to voice the idea that,  
>"It is possible, yes. It will come down to the two of them." Some small and irrational part of Remus hoped that maybe if he said it quietly enough, it wouldn't happen.<p>

"Merlin. He's just a child."

"He's not, Sirius. He's a powerful wizard already, I've never known anyone who could produce a Patronus at the age of thirteen."

"He needs more time, though. He needs to prepare. He needs to know." Sirius insisted, and Remus nodded to himself.

"I know, but I'm not sure the others will see it our way, least of all Molly. We will give him all the time we can, but the more time we give Harry, the more time we give _him_."

"Why didn't we just kill Wormtail when we had the chance, Remus? None of this would have happened if we had."

"Because Harry was right. James wouldn't have wanted it. If you want to blame anyone, blame me and my Furry Little Problem." Remus sighed, dropping his head and taking a large gulp of Firewhisky.

"No. Absolutely not. Besides, you're supposed to be over here cheering me up, Moony. We can talk about this when the rest of them turn up. Incidentally, when is that?"

"The Weasleys and Hermione are coming tomorrow; the first big meeting is in the evening." Remus told him, and Sirius grinned.

"All the more reason to spend tonight getting sloshed, then."

It didn't take long for the old friends to finish the bottle of Firewhisky in the kitchen, and soon they were reliving their days at Hogwarts with enthusiasm.  
>"Did you see the look on his face though?" Sirius giggled, "He thought he was dreaming, like he'd ever get to snog <em>Evie Merchion.<em>"

"You know, Sirius, you know, I don't know if I felt more sorry for him or Mrs Norris!" Remus cried, and the pair descended into uncontrollable fits of laughter. It took a good few minutes for them to compose themselves.

"I still don't know how we managed that!" Sirius said.

"What, convince Thebeus Smith that Mrs Norris was Evie Merchion or convince McGonagall that we actually didn't?"

"Both."

"He had no proof, though. That was the brilliance of it."

"Can't believe the git still tried to pin it on us. How could he possibly have known it was us?" Sirius insisted, and Remus smiled,

"Because he asked Lily to Hogsmeade the week before, Padfoot. As if James was going to let him get away with that!" He reminded him, and Sirius grinned.

"Oh yeah. I swear we spent half our time hexing guys who fancied Lily."

"That's because we spent about a third of our time hexing Severus." Remus pointed out, and Sirius nodded.

"Very true. You know, Moony, I never thought you could hold your liquor this well." He said, "I'm impressed."

"I got in a decent amount of practice after your incarceration." Remus admitted.

"Bloody hell." Sirius breathed, looking at his old friend in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Like I said, I'm here to cheer you up, not bother you with any of my now-irrelevant problems." Remus shrugged, "Let's talk about something else."

But Sirius was suddenly feeling very sober, and he couldn't let this pass. This was _Remus Lupin_, for Merlin's sake! The man had dealt with being a werewolf since he was five years old without ever having complained, dealt with rejection from most of the magical world, and poverty to boot. He couldn't understand it. If Remus Lupin had ever turned to drink, there was no hope for anyone.

"But... I don't understand, Remus. What _happened_?"

"Voldemort happened, Sirius. Lily and James. I thought one of my best friends was a traitor and the other three were dead. What did you think I was going to do? You were the only people who truly accepted me. Even some of the others in the Order thought I was scum. But then Dumbledore found me, and he made me realise that I was only truly scum when I was sitting in that bar. I owe him so much." Remus pushed his half empty glass away from him and began a close inspection of the swirls in the mahogany table.

"I'm sorry, Moony." Sirius said eventually, but Remus only gave a harsh laugh.

"What could you have done about it? Other than tell the Aurors the truth, obviously, 'stead of just laughing like a lunatic. Why did you laugh, anyway? If you weren't mad, that is." Remus asked, and Sirius considered the question for a few seconds before he answered.

"Genuinely? I think it was mostly because that was the most intelligent thing Peter had ever done, and the irony of it, of the whole sorry thing, just got to me in that moment. I _was_ a bit mad, then."

"I hate to break it to you, but you've always been mad, mate."

"It's probably all the in-breeding." Sirius admitted, and Remus smiled despite himself.

"Probably." He agreed, "You know, we should really go to bed."

"I thought you'd never ask." Sirius said with a wink. Remus aimed to cuff him around the head, but missed.

"Damn." He muttered, shuffling towards the door. "Is anything in the second floor guest bedroom cursed?"

"Not to my knowledge. See you in the morning, Moony."

"Night, Padfoot."

Sirius didn't end up going to bed until the sun started peeking over the horizon. He had too much to think about. Things like Harry and Remus and the prophecy and the oncoming war chased each other around his head for hours, and he felt more helpless than ever.

_**A/N - I had to try so hard to keep this canon. You have no idea. But I have a feeling that our Mr Lupin will be meeting a certain pink-haired Auror soon enough, and that won't be a problem any more.**_

_** Reviews are better than Firewhisky and nostalgia :)**_


	2. The Weasleys

_**A/N - Chapter Two is here! This one was a bit tricky, but hopefully you will enjoy it just as much as the last!**_

**_Disclaimer: *Disclaims*_**

Sirius was woken by a scream. He stumbled out of bed, clutching his head and yelled,

"Someone shut her up!"

The screaming soon stopped, but it was still ringing in Sirius's ears. He collapsed back onto his bed and pulled the covers up over his head. He was not left undisturbed for long, as Remus tapped gently on the door.

"I'm going to assume your mother woke you, and would like to point out that Molly and the clan have arrived and are in your kitchen."

Sirius groaned.

"Why can't you deal with it?"

"Because it is not my house," Remus explained patiently, "and none of Molly's children have ever thought I was a mass murderer."

"And if you want to keep it that way you'll _leave me alone_. How are you so chirpy anyway?" Sirius muttered.

"Because I was sensible enough to drink a large glass of water before retiring. Never fails. You, however, seem to have forgotten that little Muggle trick, and I'm afraid we're fresh out of Pepper Up Potion. I _might _be able to convince Molly to fry you up a nice breakfast, if you're willing to come downstairs."

Sirius weighed up the pros and cons of journeying to the kitchen, but eventually the grumblings of his stomach won out, and he hauled himself out of bed.

"Excellent." said Remus with a smile, "I'll go and ask Molly to put some bacon on."

Sirius groped for his robes through the darkness and pulled them over his head before slouching into the corridor and down the stairs to the kitchen. Three freckled faces looked sceptically at him, and he attempted a weak smile.

"Err… morning."

"Sirius!" Ron said, clearly trying to diffuse the slight tension caused by his siblings staring at their none-too-happy host. "How've you been?"

"All right thanks, Ron." Sirius rasped, trying his best to maintain a civil demeanour.

"Sirius isn't at his best this morning, I'm afraid." Remus explained, setting a cup of coffee before his friend, who took a sip and gave a sigh of contentment.

"Tell me, Sirius," said Molly briskly as she bustled around the kitchen, "exactly how long had you been moping around here before Remus had to come over and look after you?"

"I dunno, about five hours?" Sirius mumbled, and Remus laughed.

"Who am I to ignore my life's true calling?"

"Well, he's not going to be around to look after you all the time, now. Everyone in the order is needed for…" Molly looked to her children, whose eyes immediately returned to their cups of tea, "for their duties."

"I'm sure I can cope, Molly." Sirius said, petulantly, but Mrs Weasley still looked sceptical.

"If you insist, Sirius dear. Now, I've had a quick look round, and I'm really not sure what that House Elf of yours has been doing all these years! I'm sure all of you will want to lend a hand clearing at least the ground floor – we can have it in this state when the rest of the Order arrive."

"With all due respect, Molly, this isn't your house to worry about." Sirius told her through gritted teeth as she placed a bacon sandwich on the table before him.

"Oh I know that, but still, it is in an awful state. Besides, if we're going to be staying here for the next few weeks, we'll want it to be at least habitable." Mrs Weasley said, apparently unaware of her increasingly irritable host.

"Of course we do!" Said Remus, taking advantage of Sirius's mouthful of bacon sandwich, "I'm sure we would all love to lend a helping hand. After all, we've got to keep ourselves entertained!"

"And I suppose Exploding Snap is out of the question?" Fred muttered to his twin, earning him a glare from his sharp eared mother.

"Since you evidently aren't planning on getting any homework done while we're here, you may as well help me with the cleaning, Ginny that goes for you, too."

"But Mum…" They began to protest, but stopped abruptly at the look of determination on their mother's face.

"I'm sure it'll be great fun." Remus said, as they carried great buckets of cleaning supplies into the first reception room, "If you're interested in the Dark Arts this place is a veritable treasure-trove of interesting things. Sirius's mother was quite the… umm…"

"Mental old hag?" Sirius suggested, as he drew his wand and poked the curtains gingerly.

"Know how you feel, mate." George muttered as Molly bustled into the room, clutching a large copy of Lockhart's _Guide to Household Pests_.

"Dear me!" She exclaimed as she looked around the room. The large, dusty, emerald green curtains had been drawn by Sirius, illuminating the enormous, gilt edged mirror that hung above the fireplace, which looked as though it contained charred bones. In the centre of the room was a low ebony table, upon which was set a silver dish, full of black liquid. Ginny sat down on one of the leather armchairs only to jump back up with a shout,

"It bit me!"

Sirius sighed,

"You must have the permission of the house's owner to sit on those chairs, and I assume that since I inherited Kreacher, I also have mastery over any unfriendly pieces of furniture. Of course you all have my have my permission to sit wherever you like, although I'd still steer clear of the high-backed one by the bookcase, that was my mother's, and I don't know what she's done to it." He explained, and Ginny tentatively lowered herself back into the armchair, though she wasn't left alone for long, as Molly said,

"Don't get too comfortable, dear; we've got work to do here." Molly said briskly, picking up her wand and waving it across the grime encrusted mirror, only to jump back with a start.

"Merlin's beard!"

Sirius's heart felt as though it had dropped to his stomach as he saw Molly's face, reflected in the glass, deathly pale, the word "traitor" scratched into her forehead, blood running down her face. That same single word was branded across the foreheads of each of her children, and Sirius thought he might be sick.

"I'm so sorry." He said, before rushing from the room.

He knew Remus was hard on his heels, but he didn't look back as he slammed the door of his bedroom and collapsed onto his bed. He had known trying to deal with the house would be difficult, but he had never envisioned this; never thought that his friends would be so degraded by even the memory of his ancestors.

There was a light tap on his door before Remus opened it and edged into the room.

"Sirius?"

"Remus."

"Something appears to be bothering you."

"However did you work that out?" Sirius snapped. Remus heaved a sigh and continued,

"It's not a reflection of you. If you'll pardon the pun." he said, sitting down on the bed beside Sirius. "No-one blames you for it, and you're going to have to accept that, because I'm sure that isn't the nastiest thing we'll encounter trying to spruce the place up a bit. Now, I'm going to go downstairs and help Molly cover that thing up, and you can either sit up here and sulk, or come downstairs and prove that you want to get rid of this stuff as much as the rest of us."

Remus looked at his friend expectantly, and Sirius couldn't help but smile.

"Go on then. Let's get this over with."

They spent the rest of the morning clearing the first reception room, though the dish of black liquid remained untouched, as no-one was quite able to identify it.

"I'll ask Mad-Eye to have a look at it when everyone arrives." Mrs Weasley said, "Now then, Sirius, which rooms would you recommend for us? Just in case any have some… unsavoury surprises."

"Ah, yes." Sirius replied, trying to keep from his head the image of Ron being smothered by his own pillows. "I had a look around yesterday, and I think the double room on the second landing is fairly innocuous. There's a rarely used guest room on the fifth floor that would suit you and Arthur, Molly, and a couple more on the third floor, but not the one with the black bed linen. That's… something of a special case."

"Special case, eh?" Came a voice at his shoulder, and Sirius turned to see one of the twins (he had no idea which) grinning at him.

"That's something of a speciality of ours." Said his brother, an identical grin stretching across his freckled face.

"Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves properly." Said the first, "Fred Weasley at your service, and this is George."

"Well, boys, pleased though I am to see such enthusiasm in young men I'm afraid you really do want to stay out of there. It's what my mother called the _Brutus Suite_, and was reserved for very special visitors. My family always held a certain amount of political power in the wizarding world, as I'm sure you know, and those diplomats who disagreed with their draconian views would be shown to the Brutus Suite. I watched thirteen people walk into that room as a child; none of them came out again." Sirius explained, and the twins gaped, open mouthed at him.

"_Seriously?_"

"Yes. So don't go locking any of your siblings in there, in case the thought crossed your mind."

"Our minds?" Said Fred,

"Never." Said George.

Once the family had settled down, they regrouped in the kitchen, where Molly began frantic preparations for the Order's arrival.

"Molly, calm down will you? They're going to sit around a table and talk about war, that's hardly the social event of the season."

"I know but…"

"Just sit down, and Moony'll make you a cup of tea, won't you Moony?"

"Oh, all right, thank you Re-"

"What?"

"_What?_"

"Did you just call him…"

"_Moony?_"

**_A/N - Reviews are more exciting to me than meeting the Marauders is to Fred and George :) _**


	3. Sulking

Sirius was frustrated. Twelve years in Azkaban and one on the run had not quite extinguished his sense of importance where the Order was concerned. In the First Wizarding War, he'd been the centre of Anti-Voldemort activities; even Moody had a sort of grudging respect for the young man who was willing to risk anything for his friends. Now he was useless, now no-one seemed to think he was of any consequence as they sat around the long kitchen table at Grimmauld Place. Although everyone knew, and accepted, his innocence, there was something in the way they looked at him that suggested they didn't quite trust him.

He said nothing as the rest of the Order planned and discussed their actions so far; guard duties, keeping out of Fudge's way, how Harry was doing. Every muscle in Sirius's body was tense; he was seething with anger at the way they could calmly discuss Harry as though he was nothing more than another bloody thing the Order had to "deal with".

Despite their relatively short acquaintance, Sirius knew his godson, and knew that, like him, Harry would be going mad cooped up in Privet Drive. Harry more than anyone deserved to know what was going on. Yet somehow, Sirius could find no way of heaving his heart into his mouth, and for the whole of the first meeting of the new Order of the Phoenix, Sirius said nothing. Not even to Remus. Not even to Tonks, whom he didn't recognise at first as his favourite cousin's only child. Not even to Snivellus, who had sat with white lips during most of the meeting, glaring across the table at the two Marauders.

Even when most of the Order had left, Molly and Arthur had retired, and only three remained around the table, Sirius said nothing. Finally, Remus had had enough.

"You know, if you're so angry, you might say something."

"How do you know I'm angry?"

"Because you are staring at that cup of tea as though it just murdered all your family."

"Remus, if this cup of tea had murdered all my family, I would give it a medal."

"We're not all bad." Tonks piped up, "Some of us are even quite nice, if you'd actually open your mouth and have a chat."

Sirius looked from Tonks to Remus, and back again, but it was no use. Both were looking expectantly at him,

"You're ganging up on me. This isn't fair. You don't even know each other for Merlin's sake!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Now that isn't entirely true." Remus smiled, "You see, while you were sulking, the rest of us were having a meeting and being introduced to one another. We also met at Lily and James's wedding, though I doubt this one remembers."

"Of course I do! It was one of the few occasions when mother forced me to wear a dress. Each of those days is imprinted on my memory. Especially that one." Tonks informed him, seriously.

"Then you will remember with perfect clarity how Sirius went to great pains to get both you and that dress absolutely filthy, simply for the pleasure of annoying Andromeda."

"Hey, it wasn't _just _to annoy Andromeda: kid looked utterly miserable." Sirius interjected, "but how _is _my favourite cousin?"

"Oh she's all right. A bit beside herself at the thought of me being in the Order, her worry rivals even Molly's, but I think she's proud more than anything. Dad's wild with envy, of course, I don't know if you remember the fight he had with Rudolphus, but that leg injury he got is still playing up, otherwise he'd have been right back into the thick of it. I'm glad really; I don't think Mum could have coped with both of us being involved. Other than that, though, not much has really changed. Of course, we aren't in hiding any more, I'm sure you deduced that much." Tonks told him, and Sirius made an effort to smile.

"Well, do send them both my best, won't you? And tell your Mother to pop over one day, Merlin knows I could do with someone other than Moony to talk to. He's very dull." He said, and Tonks nodded.

"Of course. I'd actually better be getting home, Mad-Eye's got all of us on an extra training day tomorrow, and if I know Mad-Eye, I'll need a good night's sleep to survive it. I'll see you both at the next meeting."

"Bye." The Marauders chorused as she left the kitchen, but there was hardly time for either to say anything more before there was a loud thump, and Mrs Black began screaming.

"Sorry!" came a voice from down the hall, and Remus hurried out of the kitchen to help Tonks wrestle with the curtains in front of Mrs Black's portrait.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I tripped over that umbrella stand on the way in, too." His cousin's voice drifted down the hall as the screams died down, and Sirius couldn't help but smile.

"We should really move it, it's hideous anyway." He heard Remus say.

"What _is _it, anyway."

"A Troll's foot."

"Oh."

"Yes. It's really quite unpleasant."

"Yes."

There was a long pause before he heard Tonks's voice again.

"Err, bye then."

"Bye."

Finally the front door slammed shut and Remus re-entered the kitchen.

"Well done." He said, smiling at Sirius.

"What for?" Sirius asked, perplexed.

"Talking to Tonks, I know you probably just wanted to sulk and have a drink, but I think she appreciated your welcome, and so will Andromeda." Remus explained, pouring a glass of Firewhisky and setting it down in front of Sirius.

"Well, I suppose she is family and all that." Sirius shrugged, taking a gulp from the glass before him and wincing.

"Do I remember correctly that once I could drink a lot more of this without even noticing?"

"Definitely. It was actually a little frightening."

"Looks like I'm going to have to start training again, then. The Dementors weren't exactly open to my suggestion that prisoners be allowed access to this stuff." Sirius said, finishing the rest of the glass in one and holding it out for more. Remus hesitated for a moment,

"Are you sure? You know, Sirius, this probably isn't healthy, and you aren't as young as you were then."

"I'm painfully aware of that, Remus. I am also painfully aware that many people, even those convinced of my innocence, think that twelve years in Azkaban must have unhinged me at least a little and I am some kind of liability to the Order. No-one here respects me anymore, and if I can't prove to them I can still fight, I might as well show them I can still drink like a twenty year old." Sirius said, slamming his glass down in front of Remus so that the edges left a tiny dent in the hard wood. Remus put the bottle down before replying.

"Sirius, do you honestly believe a word you just said? I think this afternoon alone proves that there are certainly people out there who respect you." Remus pointed out, and he couldn't help smiling at the thought of Fred and George's identical expressions of glee when Sirius had said,

_"Of course, it's his name. I was quite proud to be the one who thought it up, no-one in school ever guessed it was to do with his Furry Little Problem."_

_"Yes, just like no-one ever thought that you were Padfoot because you could turn into a bloody massive dog, but then __again there was rather a lot the rest of Hogwarts didn't know about us." Remus had added with a smile,_

_"Wait, you're Padfoot?" Fred had exclaimed, and Remus and Sirius exchanged confused glances._

_"Yes." Sirius had said, "But why is that so important?"_

_"Because you're the bloody Marauders."_

_"Only our heroes since first year."_

_"Purveyors of aids to magical mischief makers."_

_"Makers of the most fantastic map in the history of Magical cartography!"_

Sirius did smile at the memory, but it didn't last long.

"You're right Moony, as always, but I suppose that kind of respect just serves to prove that the Marauders are gone. They aren't who we are anymore and we're fools to think we can get that back: the youth and the energy and the hope we had, that's been worn away for both of us. I envy James, you know, that he didn't have to see us come to this."

Remus said nothing for a few long seconds, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. When Remus eventually spoke, his voice was low and calm, but it trembled in a way Sirius had never heard before,

"Never say anything like that again, Sirius. Ever."

"Remus, I…" Sirius had barely uttered his friend's name before he was alone in the kitchen. It was only when the front door slammed did he snap back into his senses. He leapt out of his chair and sprinted down the hall, wrenching open the door before it even occurred to him that he wasn't supposed to be outside.

"Remus!" He shouted, just before Remus could turn on the spot and Disapparate.

"Sirius, go back inside right now."

"Not unless you come with me. You have nowhere to stay, don't pretend you think I don't know." Sirius said softly, but Remus didn't move.

"It's still too warm out here. It isn't as though I'll freeze."

"I won't have you suffer for my mistake, Remus. We've been down that road before and I still haven't quite forgiven myself." Sirius said softly, and Remus sighed.

"I forgave you, though. I always will, you berk. Now get back inside, I'll make us a cup of tea; no more Firewhisky, and absolutely no more envying the dead."

"Absolutely none." Sirius agreed, "I'm sorry, Remus. I didn't think."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Remus pointed out, though there was a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Yeah, well, it's a long-standing problem." Sirius shrugged as they re-entered Number Twelve.

"You know, Padfoot, sometimes I can't help but feel as though I'm more like your mother than anything else."

"Remus! How could you say a thing like that?" Sirius exclaimed, "I like you infinitely more than my mother!"


	4. The Plan

_**A/N - I know I know I know. I'm a dreadful updater, but If I gave you all my reasons, then the AN would be loner than the fic, so I won't. But you'll be pleased to know that this chapter is much more light hearted, since I realised it'll been a bit angsty up to now! **_

___**Disclaimer: *insert witty disclaimer here***_

Sirius should have contented, happy. The house was bustling with teenagers, Ron having lived up a little since Arthur had brought Hermione over the previous evening. The kitchen felt warmer and cosier than Sirius ever remembered it, the smell of Molly's cooking wafting through the entire house. But Sirius couldn't rest, couldn't relax - Remus was up to something.

Thirteen years had altered many things, but not the look that came over Remus when he was plotting. Usually, this look was a source of great joy for Sirius, because it meant that one of the best tricks ever was about to be played on the students and staff of Hogwarts. Despite his quiet nature, Remus Lupin was not to be underestimated when it came to causing havoc. Although he always took some persuading, when Remus was on board a plan could never fail. But that was exactly what was making Sirius nervous. What made him doubly nervous was that he was deep in whispered conversation with Fred and George Weasley.

When he could bear it no longer Sirius practically leapt from his chair and stormed towards the library. The smell of the old books comforted him, though he tried not to look at the names of the books on the shelves, his parents hadn't been interested in much that wasn't Pureblood Propaganda. As he collapsed into one of the beaten old leather armchairs, he heard a pair of irritable voices drifting towards him.

"Hermione, remind me, what month is it?"

"August, Ron."

"And do we have school in August?"

"No."

"Then _why are we in a Library?_"

Sirius smiled to himself as Hermione gave an exasperated sigh.

"Because there are desks here, and I like books."

"Including _When Mudbloods Turn Dirty?_ Even _you _can't like these books." Ron protested, and Sirius had to admit he had a point.

"The subject matter isn't exactly my favourite, but they're still incredibly interesting. It's one of those things about the Wizarding World that fascinates me, because for all the magic it's still far less developed than the Muggle world in so many ways. It's funny the way that Muggles used to persecute Wizards, but that's hardly made them aware of just how wrong that sort of thing is. The way werewolves and House Elves and Muggleborns are treated by some people is really quite shocking." Hermione stated, and Sirius heard Ron splutter a few times before lapsing into silence. Though the silence, admittedly, did not last long.

"We're not... we're not _all _prejudiced, you know." He stuttered eventually.

"I know _that_ Ronald, I'm not accusing you of anything. That would be ridiculous, after you spent all those hours throwing up slugs in second year." Sirius could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yeah... well... couldn't let Malfoy get away with calling you a, y'know."

"I know, Ron. It was very gallant of you."

"Could I have that in writing, please?" Ron laughed,

"So you can produce it with flair the next time we have an argument? I think not." Hermione replied, and Sirius chuckled quietly to himself.

"What makes you so certain we will have another argument?"

"Because you are a tit, Ronald."

"And you're a know-it-all."

"Glad we got that clear."

As the pair of them dissolved into laughter, Sirius suddenly felt a wave of pity towards Harry. He'd always felt so lucky that, when James eventually won Lily over, he had Remus and Peter to make faces at and have a decent, woman free conversation with. It was no wonder Harry felt so alienated from what was going on, when Ron and Hermione were here, together. He removed himself from the armchair and strode quickly out of the Library, almost bumping into Ginny on his way out.

"Oh, Sirius, sorry. Hermione isn't in there is she?"

"Yeah, with Ron." He told her, and Ginny made a face,

"It can wait." She said, turning back towards the stairs. Sirius was about to follow suit when he was intercepted by two more red-headed figures with identical grins plastered on their faces.

"Mr Padfoot, it has come to the attention of Mr Moony that you have been a sulky git recently, and this requires remedying immediately." Said one of them, he thought it was Fred.

"He therefore requests your immediate presence in the drawing room." His brother finished, and they frogmarched him down the hall and into the drawing room, where Remus was seated in one of the high-backed chairs.

"Good afternoon, Sirius."

"Remus, what the hell is going on? You look like a villain from one of Lily's ridiculous Muggle spy-films," Sirius insisted, eyeing his old friend and the Weasley twins with suspicion.

"Well, as my excellent co-conspirators have doubtless informed you, I have been concerned with your excessive sulking over the past week. Naturally, my position as your friend and all-round Nanny requires me to do something about this, lest your health suffer as a result."

"Naturally," Fred cut in, "he came to the conclusion that the only cure for a melancholy Marauder is a good old fashioned prank."

Sirius's mouth fell open. He stared from Fred to George to Remus, who smirked infuriatingly back at him before he found his own lips contorting into an inescapable smile.

"My my, Moony, I am shocked to my very core that you still had it in you." Sirius admitted, and Remus's smile widened.

"Trust me, Padfoot, so am I," he replied, his eye twinkling in a way that Sirius hadn't seen for over a decade.

"Shall we get started, then?" George said, rubbing his hands together, "Fred and I have been taking a look around the kitchen and we think there is great potential in..."

"If you're thinking about making Molly our victim, I'm going to have to stop you right there. I'm really quite fond of my limbs, and would prefer to keep them all. Besides, I think she has enough on her plate without the four of us ganging up on her." Remus pointed out, and the twins looked crestfallen for just a second before brightening up.

"Excellent, always keen for an excuse to educate our darling Ronnikins." Fred exclaimed, and Sirius smiled.

"Well then, boys, I think I have an excellent idea." Sirius grinned, leaning in conspiratorially, "Now, I might be mistaken in my understanding of the situation, but might Harry have the right to feel just a little... superfluous when in the company of his two best friends?"  
>Identical grins began to spread slowly but surely across the faces of the twins.<p>

"You just might, Sirius, old chap. You just might." George said, with a wink.

"We figured it out around third year," Fred explained, as Remus nodded along, "though neither of them had any idea, obviously. The Vicky appeared on the scene and I think our darling Ronnikins might have had something of a realisation, though how full this is we are as yet unsure."

"Well then, I think I know a way to help our young friends find their way." Sirius breathed, and as his mind whirred around library books and sticky cables and half forgotten charms, he felt a twinge of something he had thought long forgotten: excitement. It was hardly a mission for the Order, or even a jaunt into the outside world, but it was something: the best something to have happened to Sirius in a long while.

Remus saw this, and he smiled.

The next day found Ron and Hermione (as well as Sirius, Remus, Fred and George, crouching out of sight) back in the Library, Hermione scribbling away on a piece of parchment.

"I thought you said you'd done all your work." Ron observed, as Hermione dipped her quill back into the inkpot, staining her fingers with black ink.

"I have," was her absent minded reply, "I'm just writing a letter."

"Didn't you write to Harry and your parents two days ago?" Ron pointed out, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Hermione.

"Perhaps I'm not writing to them."

"Well then who the bloody hell are you writing to?"

"Not that it's any of your business," Hermione told him, sharply, "but I am writing to Viktor, as he asked me to."

There followed a long silence, in which Ron opened and closed his mouth like fish, and Fred and George had to stifle their laughter in the backs of their hands.

"He... Viktor Kru... asked _you_..." He stammered, and Sirius could swear the corners of Hermione's lips twitched upwards.

"Yes, Ronald. He asked me to visit him as well, but I thought that would probably involve a lot of watching him practice Quidditch, and you know how dull I find that." She said nonchalantly, folding the letter and tucking it away into an envelope as Ron gaped at her.

Behind the bookcase through which the conspirators viewed the scene, Fred raised a questioning eyebrow and Sirius nodded. Now was the moment.  
>With a silent flick of his wand, Fred lifted <em>Managing Muggles and their Malevolence <em>off the shelf directly above Hermione's head, holding it in front of Ron's face. Ron's eyes widened, and he breathed,

"Hermione..."

"What is it now, Ron?" She asked rather irritably, as another book (expertly manoeuvred by Remus) lifted itself from the dusty shelves and floated idly between the pair,

"Oh." Hermione said, rising slowly from her seat, eyes fixed on the hovering volume before her. She reached out to touch it, but the book jumped away, just a little closer to Ron, and Hermione followed it, her hand still stretched before her in an attempt to grasp the maverick book. Only when she and Ron were inches apart did Sirius and George act; it was as though the shelves had exploded, and both Hermione and Ron screamed. In all the commotion, neither noticed that the black ribbons attached to the spines of the books were growing longer and longer and were twining themselves around the pair.

Neither noticed what was happening until it was too late, and they were pressed flush against each other, the ribbons that surrounded them having merged into one mass, holding them in the position they had flown into entirely of their own accord when the book explosion took place: Ron having thrown his arms around Hermione in what Sirius imagined was a gallant attempt to protect her from the feral paper.

"If Fred and George aren't behind this, I'll eat my Runes textbook." Hermione muttered, more to herself than anything else.

"I'm going to kill them in their sleep." Ron growled, "Or would that be too painless?"

"Definitely too painless," Hermione agreed, "I don't suppose you have your wand, do you?"

"In my back pocket."

"Ah."

_**A/N - Reviews? I'm not sure exactly what I think of this one, so would be muchos grateful for feedback :)**_


	5. The Two Lupins

**_A/N - Yay! A quick update! It's really short, but it felt like a natural break and I really wanted to get something up :) _**

_**Disclaimer: If I own Harry Potter, then Lupin can sing. **_

Eventually, it was Ginny who heard the shouts for help coming from the Library, but it took her a good five minutes to recover from the fit of hysterical laughter that Ron and Hermione's condition had induced. Even Molly couldn't quite find it in her heart to scold Fred and George, for which Sirius and Remus were immensely grateful. Despite her motherly and occasionally overbearing nature, Sirius knew that Molly's most prominent talent (even above cookery) was understanding the minds of others, and being sympathetic. Now, the corners of her lips twitched into a smile as she picked sticky little pieces of ribbon out of Hermione's hair, as they refused to be charmed away.

Ron had stormed upstairs to have shower and Ginny, Fred and George were playing Exploding Snap on the kitchen table, and somehow, all the tension that had been accumulating over the last few days was dissipating.  
>Sirius leaned back in his chair, surveying the scene before him, a smile still ghosting on his lips as he remembered the look on Ron and Hermione's faces when,<p>

"Ouch!" he exclaimed as the chair collapsed beneath him, and he hit the floor with a crash.

"Really, Sirius, you shouldn't rock on your chair, you know. It's bad for you." Hermione commented lightly as Ron sat down in the unoccupied seat next to Sirius.

"Yeah, you should watch out, mate." He said, trying and failing to hide his smirk as Molly passed him a cup of tea.

Sirius stood up and brushed himself down,

"I don't know why you're smiling, Remus," he snapped, "It'll be you next."

Remus continued to smirk as he flipped over a new page of _The Daily Prophet, _and Sirius cursed Remus's ability to ignore him.

"Oh, Sirius dear, I've been meaning to mention there's a Boggart in the wardrobe of Ron's room. I've been meaning to get rid of it, but as you can see, I am now otherwise occupied." Molly piped up suddenly, gesturing to the tangled mess that was Hermione's hair, "You couldn't deal with it for me, could you?"

Sirius grinned,

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I've been looking for something fun to do all week." He exclaimed, winking at Ron and Hermione before bounding up the stairs to Ron's room.

He pushed the door open and chuckled, the floor was almost completely covered by clothes, towels and Quidditch memorabilia; it was reminiscent of the Gryffindor boys' dormitories when the Marauders had occupied it. It drove Remus insane, Sirius remembered with a chuckle. He jumped when the tall ebony wardrobe in the corner of the room shook violently.

"There you are, you little bugger." Sirius muttered, pointing his wand at the lock on the wardrobe door. It clicked, the door swung open, and Sirius frowned; he wasn't expecting this.

The last time he'd fought a Boggart, he'd been twenty, and what he had most feared had come to pass only months later. He should have known, then, that it would be different this time, but it was a surprise all the same. He had imagined he might see the Dementors, swooping down on him as they had on the night in the Shack, but this was so entirely unexpected that it caught Sirius off-guard.

It was Remus. Remus with that hard, cold look he'd had for weeks after the Snape incident. But this was worse, so much worse.

"Moony?" Sirius said tentatively, moving forward and stretching out his hand, just to check his last friend was really there.

"Don't touch me, Sirius." Remus barked, slapping the hand away, "Don't come anywhere near me. Don't look at me."

"But Moony..." Sirius tried to protest, but he was cut off.

"And don't _ever _call me Moony." Remus spat, turning his back on Sirius, who shouted out,

"Remus! Remus what have I done?"

"It's _your fault_." Remus cried, turning to face Sirius again, pointing a thin finger at him, "It's _your fault _they're dead. _Your _fault Harry has no family no-one to turn to now."

"He has me!" Sirius screamed back, the voice of reason (that always had sounded like Remus), telling him that this was just a Boggart, was fading fast and Sirius could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

"Oh yes, _you. _I'm sure you're just what Harry needs: a bitter old man who caused his parents' deaths. You're a bloody brilliant role-model, aren't you? Moping about here, hiding away from the Order, from the rest of the world like the coward you are!"

Sirius didn't realise how loudly he was shouting until the door crashed open, the real Remus and Molly standing on the threshold of the room. Remus bounded across the room and threw himself between Sirius and the Other Remus, who vanished with a _crack _and became a full moon. Remus muttered,

"Riddikulus" and let out a harsh laugh as the orb exploded with a _pop_.

Before he knew what was happening, a pair of arms was around him, and he could hear Molly's voice,

"Oh Sirius I'm so sorry, I should have known not to send you, what a ridiculous idea..."

"I didn't think either, Molly." He heard Remus say, "Don't blame yourself. Help me get him up, would you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Sirius insisted, shaking Remus and Molly off and getting up. Brushing himself down, he fled the room, racing up the stairs to Buckbeak's room where he allowed himself to sink back to floor, stroking the Hippogriff's beak as he nudged Sirius inquisitively.

"Hello, Beaky." Sirius muttered, burying his face in Buckbeak's feathers. "I really am pathetic, aren't I?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Padfoot." Came a familiar voice form the doorway. Sirius sighed.

"Can't you just leave me alone with my misery?"

"No. I know you far too well to do that. Leaving you alone with your misery only ends with weeks and weeks of moping." Remus told him, attempting to smile. "So I'm going to take a leaf out of James's book, because I've been far too nice to you recently, and tell you to man-up. We could spend hours up here smelling the dead rats and the Hippogriff dung while I tell you it's OK and you tell me it isn't and then you sulk for a few days, or I could tell you you're an idiot to believe anything a Boggart tells you and we can go back downstairs. Which will it be?"

"Ugh. The second one." Sirius admitted eventually, taking Remus's hand and allowing himself to be pulled into a standing position.

"That's the spirit." Remus smiled, and Sirius couldn't help but smile back.

"I don't know how you do it, Remus."

"Nor do I, Sirius, nor do I." Remus replied, throwing a rat to Buckbeak, who wolfed it down in one. "C'mon. A couple of the Order are coming for supper before the meeting, and we don't want a repeat of last time, do we?"

"No, Professor Lupin." Sirius chuckled as Remus closed the door behind him and began to descend the stairs.

"Good." Remus replied, "Because I wouldn't want to deduct points."

_**A/N - Reviews would be ever so nice :) **_


	6. Doubt

_**A/N - Look at those quick updating skills. I had a bit of a block on this one, but thanks to a lovely prompt from my sister, it got back on track, though the angst keeps creeping in there. **_

___**By the by, I've also posted a new oneshot entitled "The Photograph", suitable for both Wolfstar and Remus/Tonks shippers, so I thought I would shamelessly advertise it here :) **_

_**Disclaimer: Me, own Harry Potter? You can't be Sirius. **  
><em>

"I bloody well am going."

"Sirius, please."

"Shut up, Remus. I'm going to meet my godson and that's final."

"Dumbledore's orders, Sirius." Mad-Eye told him, "You are to stay here while the Advanced Guard collects him and brings him back."

"This is ridiculous!" Sirius exclaimed, rising to his feet as Remus buried his head in his hands. Sirius was sure this hadn't been quite what Remus meant when he encouraged him to be more vocal, but at that moment, Sirius didn't care. "What right does Dumbledore have to ban me from going to get him? And for that matter, what's wrong with having him stay here? Why do we have to wait until a week before he goes back? I'm his legal bloody guardian, Lily and James trusted _me _to look after him, to-"

"I'm sure you did a fantastic job of that, shut up in Azkaban, Black. I think you've just demonstrated how much of liability you are, and why Dumbledore is absolutely right to prevent you from accompanying them." Snape sneered from across the table.

"No-one asked your opinion, Snivellus." Sirius bit back, "Some of us around this table care about Harry…"

"This isn't about caring, Black. This is about getting him from point A to point B with as little hassle as possible." Snape replied, his tone still dripping with distain, but the corners of his mouth were twitching in the way Sirius had seen so many times before.

Evidently, Remus had noticed it, too, and said quietly,

"Sirius, please. Sit down."

"You know, Lupin. I always thought you were here because the usual duties of the Order were too much for you." Snape commented, a smile twisting his face now, "I must admit to being wrong, being Black's nanny must be dreadfully tiring."

"That's it." Sirius shouted, but before he could move a muscle, a voice rang through the kitchen,

"Sit. Down. Sirius. Stop acting like a bloody teenager. That goes for you as well, Severus. You will be civil to each other for the rest of this meeting, or… um… else." Tonks finished, blushing.

Taken aback, Sirius retook his seat. Turning to Remus with raised eyebrows, he saw he wasn't the only one; Remus was staring with Tonks, evidently impressed. Tonks winked at him as Moody said,

"Thank you, Nymphadora. The Advanced Guard will be collecting Harry a three weeks from now, by Side-Along if possible, but that's not looking likely. Unless anyone has anything else to contribute, I think we're done for the evening."

Thankfully, it took only a few minutes for most of the Order to vacate Grimmauld Place and Molly and Arthur to retire to bed, leaving only Snape and Tonks still seated.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to chat." Snape said curtly, "I've brought along a few bottles of Wolfsbane, Lupin, Dumbledore suggested you might need it."

"Thank you, Severus. I can't tell you how grateful I am." Remus replied, taking the bottles that Snape had placed on the table before them.

"Just remember to take it every day for the next five days." Snape told him before marching swiftly out of the kitchen.

"Git." Sirius muttered as the door slammed behind Snape.

"Well, he's keeping me sane for another month, so I'm not going to complain." Remus commented, and Sirius fell silent.

"Um, Remus?" Came a small voice, and they both looked round to see Tonks still sitting in her place.

"Oh, yes. Sorry." Remus stammered, shocked for only a moment before the calm composure returned.

"Dumbledore told me to tell you that Kingsley's been promoted, so he can't go on patrol without Scrimgeour noticing. He wants you to take over Kingsley's patrols, as long as everything with Sirius is OK." She told them, and Sirius's heart sank.

Remus looked shocked for a moment, before he smiled.

"Well, if Dumbledore requests it of me, of course I must step up. Sirius can take care of himself, can't you Sirius?"

"'Course I can, Moony!" Sirius exclaimed, attempting to sound off-hand. He knew it was ridiculous to want Remus to stay, knew the Weasleys were good company and that Molly could handle anything, but he would miss him, miss his steadying presence in the house.

"Excellent. When do I start, then?" Remus said, clapping his hands together.

"I would imagine this Thursday, that's when Kingsley and I were due our next patrol. So I guess I'll see you then, partner." She grinned, turning to leave as Remus cried,

"Wait! You mean, you don't mind working… with… me?" He gestured to the bottles Snape had left on the table and Tonks rolled her eyes.

"We're all half-breeds here, Remus." She said, turning her hair bright turquoise as if to prove the point.

"It's still… Thank you." Remus replied eventually; a rare, genuine smile lighting up his face.

"See you!" Tonks said brightly, the sound of her footsteps fading away until a loud crash resounded through the house.

"FILTH. TRAITORS AND HALF BREEDS!" Screamed Mrs Black, and Sirius faintly heard Tonks shout,

"That's me! What did you want?" before closing the curtains with a wave of her wand and shutting the front door cautiously behind her.

Sirius chuckled to himself.

"Good luck with that one."

"I might just need it." Remus sighed, though he smiled at Sirius as he poured them both tea.

They carried their drinks into the Library and settled themselves down in the comfortable armchairs. Remus pointed his wand into the grate and flames sprang up, filling the room with warmth and light.  
>Sirius had been sure he was going to ask Remus something, or make a comment, but the chair was too comfortable, and the fire too warm. Within minutes he was sound asleep, the mug of tea untouched beside him.<p>

What seemed only a split second later, a stream of expletives roused Sirius. Leaping from the bed he almost sprinted towards the kitchen, where smoke was issuing from the oven, and Ron was flapping a tea towel ineffectually at it.

Sirius sighed,

"What in Merlin's name are you doing, Ron?"

"I was hungry." Ron explained weakly, gesturing towards the oven. Sirius shook his head with a smile and opened the oven door, pulling out two very charred squares that he imagined had previously been bread. He vanished them swiftly and opened a window to clear the smoke.

"The ability to cook isn't genetic, then?" Sirius chuckled as he fanned the smoke out through the window.

"No, it is." Ron told him, "I just take after Dad. When our Great-Uncle Herbert died, Dad tried to cook for us while Mum was away – every time he went near the kitchen, the clock told us we were all in 'mortal peril'. Lucky Bill was there, I tell you, though the twins didn't really mind living off Chocolate Frogs for a week."

Sirius smiled at the thought,

"I can just imagine that." He said, slicing four new pieces of bread and sliding them under the grill. "Now, would you like some eggs with your toast? I may not be a talented chef, but that I think I can manage.

Ron's face split into a grin as he replied,

"Sirius, mate, you are brilliant."

Two hours later, their plates were empty, the sun was peeking through the still open kitchen window and Sirius was gaping at Ron.

"You _flew _a car from The Burrow to Privet Drive?" He repeated for the third time. "I'm impressed."

"Don't let Fred and George catch you saying that, I'll never hear the end of it." Ron warned him, "It'll be 'Remember that time _the _Padfoot said he was impressed by us' until Snape washes his hair. Besides, it was my idea, they just… helped."

Sirius laughed and sat back in his chair.

"I'm glad Harry's had you and Hermione all this time. Together you've taken better care of him than anyone."

Ron's mouth twitched, but he couldn't meet Sirius's eye.

"Not this summer." He muttered eventually, raking a hand through his hair. "He's going mad there, I can tell. They might not have bars on his windows anymore but that place is a bloody prison! If we could only tell him what's going on here, keep him informed it would be _something. _He doesn't deserve this."

Sirius couldn't help agreeing, but as Ron pushed back his chair to stand, he ventured,

"I know. But if Dumbledore says it's for the best, we ought to put our trust in him."

"Oh Dumbledore knows best, of course he bloody does." Sirius was surprised at the malice in Ron's voice as he paced the kitchen, "Where was Dumbledore when the three of us had to stop Quirrell? Where was Dumbledore when my little sister was taken to the Chamber of Secrets. Where the bloody hell was Dumbledore while Barty Crouch wandered around Hogwarts dress up as Moody?"

Then, suddenly, as thought he'd only just realised what he'd said, Ron stopped.

"Err… sorry Sirius. I'm going to bed." He murmured, walking briskly from the room and leaving Sirius alone in the kitchen to ponder his words.

**_A/N - As ever, reviews are most welcome and encouraged :D_**


	7. It Comes Down To Trust

_**A/N - Don't get too used to this quick updating lark. I think I have one more in me before Easter is over and I work myself to death. Still, while the sun is shining... **_

__**_Disclaimer: If I owned Remus, I would not be spending my time writing fanfiction, let me tell you. _**

Despite what Remus said, Sirius thought Molly was being far from reasonable.

"All he's going to do is sit in his room all night. That's it." He tried to argue as he followed Molly around the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

"I'm sorry Sirius dear, I just can't make myself comfortable with the idea of his being around the children in that state." She replied, setting the knives to work chopping carrots and parsnips.

"He was in the same castle as them for a year without anything happening!" Sirius pointed out, but Molly was not to be swayed,

"That's not strictly true, is it?" She said pointedly, but Sirius brushed it off.

"That's different, those were extenuating circumstances: what reason would he have to forget his potion while he's here? He's been taking it for the past five days and there's no reason why he shouldn't take it tonight and tomorrow as well. If he does that, which he will, then he'll be absolutely harmless." He explained patiently, but Molly was shaking her head.

"I know that, Sirius, it's just-"

"It's just what, Molly?" Sirius exploded, angry that she could be so narrow minded. "You don't trust him?"

"Sirius, you know how highly I think of Remus. I know he can't help it, poor thing, I just can't quite…" Molly tailed off and began stirring the soup before her, studying it as intently as if it were a complex potion that required all her attention.

Sirius watched her for a few seconds before prompting,

"You can't quite…"

"I don't _know_, Sirius!" Molly cried, throwing the spoon down and leaning heavily on the countertop, "There are so many things that could go wrong, what if there's something wrong with the potion or…"

"Ah! That we can deal with!" Sirius said, dragging Molly over to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of green powder from the pot on the mantle and throwing it into the flames. With a sigh, he knelt on the hearth, muttering,

"I hope you damn well appreciate this, Moony" before sticking his head into the flames and saying clearly, "Spinner's End."

His head span, and Sirius felt briefly disorientated for a moment before a shabby living room came into view. It was unoccupied, but Sirius was not to be dissuaded, he took a deep, if slightly sooty, breath and shouted,

"Snape!"

A few seconds passed before the door opened and Snape came rushing in.

"Black! And I thought it was something important – what are you doing here? You are aware I could have had company." He said icily, and Sirius rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, right. Listen Sni-Severus, I actually have a favour to ask of you."

Snape smirked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh really? Well it must be important if the mighty Sirius Black would stoop to asking me." He said, clearly the savouring the situation. Sirius bit back a retort, thinking of Remus.

"Really, if there was any other path, I would have taken it, but it has to be you." Sirius told him, and Snape sat down. Sirius smiled, this was going well.

"All right, Black, I'm intruiged. What do you want? Though I assure you it is vastly unlikely you will get it."

"It's not really for me." Sirius explained, "It's for Remus. All I need you to do is tell Molly that thre's nothing wrong with the potion you gave him. I want him to stay here during the full moon because he really doesn't have anywhere else to go, but Molly doesn't want him in the house with the children while he's transformed and I can't convince her that he'll be safe. So you see, it's not for me at all really and I _know _you don't hate Remus nearly as much as you hate me because he's never been anything but civil to you and-"

"Black will you be quiet!" Snape interrupted, "I'll do it if it will shut you up."

"Does that mean yes?" Sirius grinned, and Snape grimaced.

"I suppose so."

"Brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed, pulling his head out of the fire and straightening up to see Snape's face a appear where his own had been only moments ago.

"Evening Molly," he said evenly, and Molly smiled.

"Evening Severus. I'm so sorry Sirius disturbed you."

"Don't start apologising for Black, Molly, or we'll be here all evening" Snape commented, and Sirius bit his tongue for the second time that evening. This was taking all his powers of self-control.

"Well, thank you for your time in any case." Molly said, and Snape nodded in acknowledgement.

"I understand you want some reassurance of the effectiveness of my Wolfsbane Potion. I hope it comforts you to know that I have made it countless times, especially during the year Lupin taught at Hogwarts and that all my ingredients were of the highest quality. It works in a similar way to a contraception draught, though I doubt you're familiar with that, so as long as he takes it every day, there is no reason why he should not keep his rational mind at the full moon. Is that satisfactory?" Snape finished, looking expectantly at Molly.

"I… yes, Severus. Thank you." She said, and Snape's head vanished from the fire before them.

"Well?" Sirius grinned, turning to Molly, who looked as though she was struggling. Growing impatient, he looked her in the eye and said,

"Molly. All this comes down to is trust. Do you trust Snape's skills as a Potioneer?"

"Yes." Molly venture nervously.

"And you trust Remus to take said potion?" Sirius prompted, and Molly gave a tentative nod.

"There we are then!" Sirius cried, clapping his hands together. Molly murmured something that sounded vaguely like,

"I still don't know," but she continued cooking without further argument.

They were left in silence for less than a minute before they heard the front door close.

"No, I never much cared for them, it felt to me as though they were trying too hard to emulate The Doxies, though I think _they _may be a little before your time." Remu's voice floated down the hall, accompanied by that of Tonks,

"On no, I love the Doxies, Mum used to play them all the time when I was younger."

Sirius found them in the hall just as Tonks tripped dramatically on the Troll's foot umbrella stand, grabbed the front of Remus's robes and pulled both of them to the floor.

"Sorry!" Tonks exclaimed as the portrait of Mrs Black began screaming. Unfortunately, none of the three in the hall were able to remedy this, as Remus was attempting to help Tonks back to her feet and Sirius was bent double with laugher.

Eventually, Fred and George appeared on the landing with a "pop" and tugged the curtains closed.

"What in Merlin's name is going on down there?" George shouted down at them and Tonks winced as she replied,

"I may have taken a tumble over this umbrella stand, and taken Remus with me. Sorry again about that." She said, blushing.

"Don't worry about it," Remus assured her, "it keeps me on my toes." His eyes twinkled with mirth and Sirius was very much mistaken if Tonks's blush didn't deepen just a little.

"You'll be staying for a dinner I take it, Tonks?" Sirius chuckled, "I'm sure Molly's made enough to feed an army."

"Well if that's the case I can't refuse!" Tonks answered enthusiastically, "I'm a hazard in the kitchen."

"I can imagine," Remus smiled, and Tonks nodded.

"Whatever you're thinking, double it," she said seriously, "I've became very adept at _Aguamenti _since I got my own flat."

Dinner passed quickly, the young Weasleys and Hermione relishing having someone new to talk to. As the kitchen buzzed with talk and laughter, Sirius felt as though a little of the weight that had been pressing on him was lifting. His only wish was that Harry could have been with them, and resolved to write him a letter before he went to bed.

Eventually, Molly noticed the hour and shooed the teenagers up the stairs to bed.

"Do you want some of your potion, Remus dear?" she asked, taking a glass goblet from the cupboard.

"Yes, thank you Molly," Remus replied, taking the proffered goblet with a look of distaste on his face. "Here we go," he grimaced, downing the potion in three gulps and shuddering.

"I thought I would get used to the taste, but I think I may have to admit defeat," he chuckled weakly, and Sirius smiled.

"Better or worse than Polyjuice?"

"Equally delectable," Remus joked as Molly and Arthur bid them goodnight.

"So, how was your first Order mission?" Sirius asked, keen for news of the outside world.

Remus and Tonks looked at each other for a second before agreeing,

"Dull."

"We were camped out at Malfoy Manor under Mad-Eye's cloak all day, and no-one apart from Narcissa went in or out," Tonks explained.

"We think the Death Eaters must have an alternative entrance that we don't know about," Remus told him, and Tonks nodded.

"Arthur mentioned earlier how many secret passages and such they found when they searched the place a few years ago. Malfoy will be trying very hard to keep his reputation squeaky clean at the moment so he can keep whispering poison in Fudge's ear."

"No chance we can get someone in there to look around?" Sirius suggested, and Remus shrugged.

"There's always Severus, but it might seem suspicious if he were to invite himself over so I think we'll just have to wait until an opportunity presents itself."

"Speaking of Sev- Snivellus, you'll be proud of me, Remus. Not only was I incredibly polite to him this afternoon, but I got him to do me a favour." Sirius announced, sitting up impressively in his chair as a smile crept onto Remus's face.

"Do tell, Sirius!" he said, leaning forward.

"Well, you can thank him for convincing Molly to let you stay here tomorrow night!" Sirius told him, "Not that it was ever her decision; everyone seems to have forgotten whose house it is, but isn't that great?"

Remus stopped, his glass half way to his mouth, staring at Sirius.

"Really?"

"Really."

"And Molly definitely doesn't mind, I mean, I know it must be difficult for her to accept-" Remus stammered, but Sirius cut him off.

"Moony. It's fine. She's fine. Everything. Is. Fine. Merlin!" he said, turning to Tonks, "How did you put up with him all day?"

Tonks smiled and shrugged,

"I think I probably did most of the talking." She admitted, and Remus smiled.

"Well, you're better at it than I am."

"I don't find that hard to believe." Sirius agreed, a smirk beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth. "I remember in First Year when we all moved into the dormitory and James and I were trying to get him to open up and be friendly, but he was having none of it –cagey little git- so we formulated a plan…"

"Sirius, I really don't think we need to tell this story." Remus tried to protest, shaking his head at Sirius, who laughed and nodded back.

"Remus, I really think we do."

**_A/N - Please don't hate Molly for this; I don't, but it is easy to take Sirius's part. Also, please leave a Review, if I can't have a Remus, I could at least have one of those :)_**


	8. Moony and The Moon

**_A/N - Guh. This was difficult. I've been reading too much Wolfstar. Enjoy the entirely platonic friendship in this chapter. It was difficult. _**

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Hary Potter, everyone would live, Rose, everyone would live! (Apart from the badguys)**_

The evening was always the worst; when the sun was just starting to set and Remus was just starting to twitch. To add insult to injury, Molly was now sending him covert looks across the dinner table, but Sirius was damned if he was going to let Remus undergo the transformation without a good meal inside him. Unfortunately, Remus was not as determined, and when he noticed Molly's discomfort, he pushed his plate away.

"Well, looks like it's time for me to make a move upstairs." He said, as brightly as he could manage, and Sirius sighed, knowing better than to argue with Remus just before the moon.

"OK, let's go," Sirius replied, dropping his own fork and rising from the table.

"Wait. What?" Remus said, confused. Sirius rolled his eyes and told him,

"I'm coming with you, you idiot. Even if you don't need minding, it must be so bloody boring just sitting up there by yourself, so I thought Padfoot could join you." Sirius told him, moving towards the stairs, but Remus stayed put.

"There's no point in you missing out on a night of sleep for me, you know you find it difficult to sleep anyway." He tried to argue, but Sirius was determined.

"Oh yes, because I've never missed a night of sleep for your Furry Little Problem before. Merlin's sake, Remus, c'mon." he insisted, not even waiting for Remus to form another argument before he cut in, "Let's not argue in front of the children, dear. Upstairs."

Remus looked from Sirius to the Weasleys and Hermione, who were studying their dinners intensely, trying to ignore the domestic that Remus had insisted they have. Eventually, he sighed and followed Sirius from the room with a muttered,

"Night, everyone; see you in the morning."

The pair climbed the stairs in silence, stopping when they came to Remus's bedroom door.

"Sirius, you really don't have to-" Remus began, but once again Sirius cut him off,

"I want to," he assured him, "You've done so much for me this past week; I need to give something back."

Remus's expression softened, and he even smiled just a little, pushing the door open.

"You silly mutt." He muttered, locking the door behind them with a flick of his wand.

Out of Remus's window, the sun was only a glimmer on the horizon, and the light was fading fast. It was almost time, and Remus was getting restless. Eventually, he sat down on the bed and began to undo the buttons on his threadbare shirt. When he eventually shrugged it from his shoulders, Sirius gasped.

"Remus… what _happened_?"

Remus had always had scars, the thin white lines marring the smooth skin of his torso, but there was five, ten, twenty times more than the last time Sirius had seen him. Now his entire chest was criss-crossed with lines, Sirius followed one from just below Remus's collarbone that continued to his navel. This wasn't right, Sirius thought, the Wolfsbane potion was only invented a few years after Lily and James died. There were ancient werewolves without this many scars, and Sirius felt his hand fly to his mouth at the thought of what Remus must have done to himself in those years. Tears pricked at his eyes and he turned away.

It felt like forever before Remus answered his question, though Sirius wasn't sure he'd really wanted to know,

"As it turns out, excessive emotion transfers to the wolf," he explained slowly, "After Lily and James, you and Peter; I could hold myself together in the day, drink it away in the evenings, but the wolf always knew. Of course, there was still no Wolfsbane, then, and without you and James to control me I was back in my parents' cellar ripping myself to shreds… But that was a long time ago, now I've got a lovely potion to see me through-oh."

Sirius whirled around to see Remus bend double, his thin body covered in the silvery light of the moon that poured through the window. No matter how many times Sirius saw the transformation, it broke his heart.

"It's all right, Remus." He whispered, rushing to his old friend's side and rubbing soothing circles on his back as the skin beneath his fingers hardened, the scars splitting open and fur bursting out. Remus howled in pain and Sirius howled with him, feeling fur erupt from his own skin as he fell onto all fours as Padfoot.

Everything was much easier then. The pain was still there, as always, but it was duller, pushed to the back of his mind as Padfoot's curiosity came to the fore. The beast before him was still trembling, curled slightly in on itself as the pain of transformation slowly ebbed away, so Padfoot's approach was slow and cautious, not wanting to frighten him. He gave a small whimper, to alert Moony to his presence, and was shocked to see that when Moony looked up, Remus's eyes stared out of the sockets were yellow balls ought to be.

It was strange, at first, Padfoot was confused. This wasn't Moony. He took another tentative step forward and sniffed the werewolf's fur. He smelled the same. A rush of affection flooded through Padfoot as he recognised the scent of his old friend; one with whom he had spent so many nights roaming the grounds of Hogwarts, playing and fighting and discovering. A grin broke over his face as he liked the wolf's face enthusiastically, and could swear Moony rolled Remus's eyes.

Padfoot wasn't going to let him get away with that, and soon the wolf found himself propelled across the room in a whirl of black fur. What he had forgotten was that while Remus's brain still ticked over inside Moony's body, the wolf was as strong as ever and easily had Padfoot pinned to the floor. It was the wolf's turn to grin, and the expression looked odd on Moony's face, like it didn't belong there.

Padfoot gave a little growl and batted the wolf with his paw. Moony jumped off him and sat watching as Padfoot hauled himself slowly up from the floor, dragging one of his legs slightly. He was doing a good job, thought Padfoot, of fooling him. The wolf looked concerned for a second before Padfoot pounced.

An hour later, when the rest of the house was in bed and all was quiet, Padfoot had to admit he was tired. Being cooped up in Grimmauld Place hadn't been good for him, and now he needed sleep. He gave a great yawn and curled up against Moony, drifting off to sleep with surprising immediacy. If anyone had looked into that room during the rest of the night, they would have seen the dog and the wolf, curled around each other so that each was the other's pillow.

When the sun began to filter through the window, Padfoot was awoken by a crack next to his ear. He jumped up as Moony began to howl in pain, each of his bones cracking and shrinking and reforming, the fur growing back into the skin until finally Remus lay on the floor in front of him, moaning softly. Instinct kicked in then, and Sirius was back on two feet as he lifted Remus up onto his bed and covered him with the sheet. He picked up his wand from the bedside table and unlocked the door, bolting down the stairs. He was in the middle of making the post-transformation breakfast (three pieces of toast, fried eggs, bacon, two tomatoes and three sausages) when a soft cough alerted him to Remus's presence. He looked pale and drawn, and was clearly having difficulty holding himself up as he slumped against the doorframe.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing out of bed?" Sirius cried, bolting to the door to hold Remus up.

"Don't like being alone." Remus muttered before collapsing into his friend's arms.

"You idiot." Sirius said fondly, half helping, half dragging Remus down the hall to the front room, where he sat Remus down on the longest sofa and told him, "Stay here, I'll be back in two minutes with your breakfast."

Remus nodded as Sirius hurried back to the kitchen, just in time to save the bacon. He piled the food onto a plate and brought it through to Remus, who was shivering despite the heat already streaming through the high windows.

Remus tried to thank him for the breakfast but Sirius shushed him,

"No. Eating first."

Reus smiled and began on the breakfast. Within ten minutes the plate was empty, and Remus had just a little more colour to his cheeks. He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like,

"Thanks, Sirius," before his eyelids began to droop and his head fell back onto the arm of the sofa. Sirius lifted his legs so that Remus was lying along horizontally, his legs only just fitting on the cushions. It was only a couple of seconds before Sirius realised something was wrong. A shiver ran through Remus and the little colour he had gained was draining away. Remus was shivering violently, beads of sweat beginning to break out on his forehead, which was hot to the touch.

"No," Sirius muttered, "No, it's too early for this."

The fever always set in the day after the full moon, but never had it begun so quickly. Usually, Remus was able to get a good four or five hours of sleep before the shivers began and his immune system began to attack the remaining wolf-cells. He sped back to the kitchen and shoved a towel under the cold tap, wringing it out once before he made his way back to the front room, placing the towel on Remus's forehead.

He was on his way back to the kitchen when he heard the softest of knocks on the front door. For just a second, Sirius thought he had imagined it, but then it came again. He put a tentative hand on the doorknob and pulled it open. To his surprise, Tonks was standing before him, a sheepish expression on her face,

"Morning," she said, "Glad I didn't wake you. I spent all of yesterday looking for my cloak only to realise that I left it here. Can I come in?"

"Of course." Sirius told her, stepping aside so she could slip past him into the hall.

"I didn't want to ring the doorbell, I know it's early and I didn't want your Mum waking everyone else up, but I had to drop by before work," Tonks explained as she crept down the hall towards the kitchen. Sirius wasn't surprised he hadn't noticed the spare cloak draped over the back of one of the chairs, there was so much of other people's stuff floating around the house he had lost track.

"Don't worry about it. Remus and I have been up for a bit anyway."

"Of course! It was the full moon last night, wasn't it? How is he?" Tonks asked, and Sirius was touched by the earnest concern in her voice.

"He's in the front room. Actually, you couldn't run in and check he's all right, would you? His fever's just rocketed and I need to fetch more cold water and towels." Sirius asked, and Tonks nodded as she replaced her cloak and hurried down the hall.

Once Sirius had filled a large bowl with ice and water, he carried it carefully to the front room and set it down on the table beside Tonks, who didn't even look at him as she dipped the towel into the bowl and dabbed Remus's forehead with it, shaking her head and muttering,

"Isn't there anything else we can _do_?"

"Not really, his system is fighting the remnants of the wolf. We just have to wait and try to keep his temperature down as much as possible," Sirius explained, and Tonks sighed and shook her head: an action that was Andromeda from top to toe.

Suddenly, his stomach gave a growl as he realised that, in his eagerness to help Remus, he'd forgotten to feed himself.

"Tonks, you wouldn't mind staying here for a bit while I go and grab myself some breakfast, would you?" Sirius asked, though he knew the answer before she said it,

"Of course not, Sirius."

_**A/N -I found writing Padfoot really tricky, so I'd love to hear what you thought :) **_


	9. News of Harry

_**A/N – Hola! Been a bit of a break, but this chapter has been bothering me and needing re-writing etc. Grrr. But here it is nonetheless. **_

_**This is the last chapter of pre-Harry Grimmauld Place; afterwards I will be skipping to after everyone has gone back to Hogwarts. I'll try to alternate chapters that follow closely the events of the book and chapters detailing what I think was going on in the Order/Sirius's life in general. OK? I hope so. **_

_**Disclaimer: And how do you propose I could get Harry Potter from Ms Rowling? And don't suggest a giant SLIDE, or a TRAMPOLINE... because I already tried those. **_

It was a warm, quiet evening when Arthur came pelting through the door of Grimmauld Place, eliciting a stream of curses from Sirius's mother. By the time Sirius himself had run down from Buckbeak's room, Fred and George had wrestled the curtains closed and the family was standing around Arthur, who looked pale and tired.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked, his heart beating frantically, "Has there been an attack? Is anyone hurt?"

"No. Everyone's all right. It's Harry – he's been attacked by Dementors and the Ministry have expelled him for warding them off." Arthur explained, and there was an explosion of sound as everyone in the hall let out a shout of protest, setting Mrs Black of once again. Sirius didn't even bother to close the curtains, choosing instead to shout over the top of her along with the rest of the house.

"They can't do that!"

"FILTH!"

"That isn't _fair_!"

"SCUM!"

"Is Harry all right? Is he all right, Arthur?"

"MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS ALL!"

"First all that dirt in the Prophet and now this!"

"QUIET!" Arthur shouted, and even Mrs Black was taken aback for a second, long enough for Sirius to grab the curtain and shield her from view.

"Right. If everyone would just calm down for a moment, we might get some things sorted." Arthur said patiently, "Harry is unharmed, and Dumbledore is doing everything he can to sort this out. He's at the Ministry now. Tomorrow there'll be an emergency Order meeting to discuss what's to be done."

"What about Harry?" Sirius interjected, "We have to get him out of there. Does he know what's going on?"

"I've sent him an owl but I don't know what else to do on that score. I don't have any more information than what I've just told you. Dumbledore's orders are to make sure he doesn't leave the house again. I've passed this on in my note but I think he might take heed better if it came from you." Arthur told him, and Sirius nodded.

"There's ink and parchment in the kitchen, Sirius." Hermione said, moving aside so Sirius could get past her, tearing a scrap from the long roll of parchment and writing on it,

_Arthur has just told us what's happened. Don't leave the house again, whatever you do. _

He knew how inadequate a response this was, but he had no information to offer his godson and there was no time for anything else. Harry's safety had to come first, and so Sirius attached the note to Remus's owl's leg and sent him off into the night with a heavy heart.

"Keeping him safe is the most important thing." Molly reassured him, and Sirius nodded.

"Evidently." He said sourly, "Who in Merlin's name was meant to be on watch anyway?"

"Dung." Arthur told him, and Sirius let out a mirthless laugh.

"I might have known. I'm going to kill him." he growled, clenching his fists as he began pacing the kitchen. As much as he wanted to find Dung and tear him limb from limb, that sensible little voice that sounded like Remus was telling Sirius otherwise. It would only be detrimental to Harry's removal.

_If Dumbledore and the Order have to waste their time going and fetching you, or dealing with you being caught, then what about Harry? Does he just stay locked up in Privet Drive while you make trouble?_ The voice reasoned, and Sirius wished he could ignore it. He wanted to punch something, and Dung would have done nicely. Perhaps it wasn't Dung's fault that Dumbledore was being so infuriating, or that he'd been cooped up in this house for far too long, but it was _definitely _his fault that Harry was in trouble and that was reason enough, Sirius thought.

"Look on the bright side, Sirius. They'll _have _to bring Harry here after that, we'll have him for three weeks rather than three days." George pointed out, and Sirius felt some of the tension flow from his body, immediately replaced with sickening guilt.

"Yeah." He replied with a weak smile, "Probably for the best, in the end. Look, I need to finish feeding Buckbeak so if I could just…" he didn't bother completing his sentence as he hurried from the room, his gaze fixed on the floor.

When he reached the top of the house, where Buckbeak was happily devouring the bucket of rats that Sirius had left unguarded, he shut the door behind him and sank down to the floor. George was right, and though it pained Sirius to admit it, he was happier than he had been in weeks. He would have his godson with him for the rest of the holidays, and that had to be good, whatever the circumstances.

It was the second thought that made Sirius want to curse himself into a jelly: _what if he gets expelled? _Then, Sirius would never be lonely again. Harry would come to live with him, he felt sure of it. Perhaps Sirius could take over his education, Remus could help too (he'd like that) and perhaps this Godforsaken house would start to feel- no. Sirius stopped himself before he could continue his train of thought. It was too tantalising, too clear in his head. Too selfish.

He wanted what was best for Harry, Sirius told himself, and for Harry, the best place to be was at Hogwarts, with his friends, not cooped up here with his half-mad-estranged-godfather. Sirius shook his head severely and stood up, the blood rushing to his head.

"Right," he said to himself, "time to go."

He only reached his bedroom before he had to take refuge again. He wasn't falling apart, he was cool and calm and in control – Moony would be proud – but he couldn't go back downstairs. It was only now that he realised exactly how many _people _there were in the house. It had been fantastic at first, the sound of the young Weasleys and Hermione running up and down the stairs, shouting and laughing and bickering with each other had filled the old house as nothing ever had before. Now, as the heat of the summer months escalated and Sirius tried harder and harder not to imagine life without them, he felt strangely as though he wanted to be alone.

He lay back on his bed and looked at the pictures on his walls; not the Muggle posters of girls and motorbikes which he'd put up to annoy his mother, but the moving ones from a time so long ago. He watched James and Lily smile out at him and he closed his eyes, just to remember for a moment.

Memories of a happier time danced around his mind, teasing him; James, his eyes wide and sparkling as he breathed "she said _yes_". Then he and Remus were chasing a tiny Harry around Godric's Hollow on that disastrous babysitting experiment; the tiny Harry laughed and pressed his pudgy hands together, his eyes sparkling with joy in a way that the teenaged Harry's never had.

Then Sirius was back at the Lake edge on that fateful night just over a year ago, with the Dementors swooping down on him, Harry at his side.

_Not Harry, please not Harry. _He thought frantically, all the while feeling all that hard won happiness he had gained in that past few hours being sucked away. The images flashed before his eyes; Harry's trust, Remus's embrace (his first touch of human kindness in so long), and the surge of pride as he truly saw the man Harry had become.

Everything was blurring: the past and the present, the long years melding together and swirling around his brain until he felt disoriented. Then he fell back into reality with a crash, sitting straight up in bed and taking deep breaths until everything stopped spinning.

Sunlight was streaming through his window and there was a hot cup of tea on his bedside table. Sirius was surprised he had slept this long, and that he hadn't woken up when the tea had been brought in – he suspected either Remus or Molly. Despite that, he still felt exhausted. The dreams were better than they were when he first arrived, but Sirius still found little rest in a full night of sleep.

He hauled himself out of bed, deciding not to bother changing his robes from the ones he fell asleep in, took his tea and made his way downstairs, where he was greeted by an alarming sight. Hedwig was flapping around the kitchen, pecking Ron and Hermione as though they had personally offended her. Fred, George and Ginny were laughing so hard they were powerless to help, but Molly was fussing around them, trying to get a grip on Hedwig to put her into the nearby cage.

Everyone was shouting and Hedwig herself squawking far too loudly for any hour of the morning, splitting Sirius's head until he eventually cried,

"Impedimenta!"

Hedwig froze where she was, hovering in the air just above Ron, who breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Sirius," he muttered, and Sirius nodded.

Molly softly folded Hedwig's outstretched wings and placed her gently in the waiting, open cage that Pigwidgeon usually inhabited.

"What on _earth _was all that about?" Molly exclaimed, brushing her escaped hair back as she let out a breath of relief.

"I don't know; she wouldn't even take our note." Hermione told her, bending to pick up the piece of parchment she had dropped in the scuffle. From what Sirius could see, there was very little written on it and he raised his eyebrows.

"Probably had orders from Harry not to take anything from you but clear information. I don't blame him." Sirius muttered as he began rooting through the cupboards trying to find breakfast.

Fred, George and Ginny now fell silent, and the kitchen filled with a tension that had not been present only seconds before.

"If we knew what was going on ourselves we'd bloody tell him!" Ron exclaimed, and Molly tutted.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron. You and Hermione swore to Dumbledore you wouldn't let him know, for his own good."

Sirius and Ron scoffed at the same time and Molly turned around.

"And I'll not take cheek from either of you, so don't even bother arguing with me."

Ron looked mutinous but held his silence. Sirius stood up,

"I am not your child, Molly, don't treat me like I am."

The coldness of his tone clearly shocked Molly, and she had the decency to look a little abashed for a second – but that was not to last.

"Unfortunately, Sirius, if you're going to act like a child then-"

"For once in your life, Molly, would you just shut up?" Sirius snapped.

Oddly enough, Molly did not respond to this, but allowed Sirius to adopt a surly silence. The teenagers sloped slowly out of the kitchen, not wanting to stay where there was risk of explosion. Molly busied herself with making sandwiches.

Soon, Sirius retired to the Library, where he collapsed into one of the armchairs. He felt ridiculous. Part of him wanted to apologise to Molly, but the other, larger part, told him she deserved it. The house was unusually quiet for the rest of the day; Fred and George gave up Apparating everywhere they possibly could, and Ron and Hermione were perfectly civil to each other all day. When Molly called everyone down for Lunch in the kitchen, Sirius took one sandwich with a polite,

"Thank you, Molly."

He didn't realise how tense he really was until the doorbell rang at seven o'clock, and his mother began to scream.

Two resounding cracks told Sirius that Fred and George were dealing with the portrait, so he went to get the door.

Mad-Eye stood before him, with Tonks and Kingsley in tow. He greeted Sirius with a gruff,

"Evening," and limped past him towards the kitchen. Tonks grinned at him as she passed, and a thought occurred to Sirius, who asked,

"Hasn't Remus been with you all day?"

"No, I've been at work – more's the pity." She replied, "I thought he'd be here."

"Oh." Sirius said, but was prevented from continuing his chain of thought as Mundungus appeared on the step before him.

"Sirius, mate, look I wanted to say-"

Mundungus was cut off mid-sentence as Sirius shoved him up against the wall. All the tension that he'd been carrying all day; the lack of sleep, the half-argument with Molly and his real fury that Dung had got Harry into this mess was suddenly exploding out as he hissed,

"You little shit. What the bloody hell did you think you were doing? You'd better give me a damned good reason why you thought it would be a good idea to _bugger off _and let this happen!"

Sirius's voice had risen to a shout and the Moody was hobbling back down the hall as Mundungus tried to gasp a response.

"Put him down, Sirius." Moody ordered, and Sirius tightened his grasp on Dung's throat for just a second before releasing him. Dung scuttled away down the corridor as Moody turned his stern gaze to Sirius.

"I've got enough trouble to deal with without you making more. You can contribute something useful or nothing at all to the meeting tonight, is that clear?"

"Crystal." Sirius muttered through gritted teeth.

_**A/N – There we have it! Not sure what I think of this, so always happy to have reviews! **_

_**ATTENTION FreindlyNeighbourhoodHPFan! Hi. You appear to have PM disabled but I felt your review demanded some kind of response. Firstly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to write a detailed review, always appreciate that **_

_**I would also like to address the points you made, since they interested me, and I hope you don't mind my doing so. The way I see it, Sirius is overwhelmed by guilt from the minute Lily and James die, as I've tried to make clear with my presentation of his Boggart. Seeing what Remus had done to himself in those few years would have triggered that response in him, because he knows that if he'd been with Remus rather than in Azkaban, this would never have happened. So that's yet ANOTHER thing he has to blame himself for, which would have particular potency after having been so reliant on Remus in previous chapters. Remus is there for him while he's struggling, but Sirius wasn't there for Remus and it hits him hard. **_

_**I found your idea of his being "hardened" by Azkaban intriguing, and I think there is a point where our opinions on things differ. Personally, I don't believe anyone is hardened by Azkaban, they are haunted. Hagrid, "one of the bravest people Harry knew" is so hideously affected by his experience in Azkaban that I feel Sirius must have been seriously emotionally affected and weakened. **_

_**I don't boast to know a lot about depression (which I believe Sirius definitely suffers from while staying at Grimmauld Place) but I do know that each sufferer has ups and downs. Helping Remus is one of Sirius's ups because it is finally something he can DO. He wants to throw himself into the war but he can't do that, he wants to throw himself into caring for Harry but he can't do that – he can help Remus. It's something familiar, something to keep him busy. Sirius always struck me as being happier when he was on the run – he likes the adventure – and while this isn't an adventure, it's something to distract him from the monotony and oppression of being back in that house. **_

_**As you can see, Sirius retreats back into himself a little in this chapter, though I'm trying to show that he's growing a little as the story goes on – though there will inevitably be bumps along the way. **_

_**I also find it interesting to note how varied opinions of Sirius are in the fandom – I think because he gets so little page time, certainly much less than he deserves - since my friend MelloLily much prefers the Sirius we've seen more recently to my early Sirius. **_

_**Goodness! Sorry about the mini-essay, I do hope you've not been bored! Just one last thing - I'm so glad you like my Remus, I enjoy writing him so much and it gives me such pleasure to see people enjoying reading him! **_

_**PS Out. **_


	10. Losing Battles

_**A/N - Look! I updated! So sorry about the dely, I have had some serious writer's block on this chapter, plus a gazillion other things to deal with.**_

_**WARNING: There is one use of strong language in this chapter. I wouldn't call it enough to change the rating, so I'm just gonna let you know now :)**_

_**Thanks to FriendlyNeighbourhoodHPFan for the suggestion about Harry, which I've included as a flashback in this chapter :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I can't think of a witty way to do this. Don't own. Huzzah. etc.  
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The emptiness was so _loud_. It rang through the halls and staircases of Grimmauld Place. It followed Sirius around until he couldn't bear it any longer and escaped to Buckbeak's room. There was, however, only so much time one could spend having a one-sided conversation with a Hippogriff in a room that smelled of dead ferrets. He wasn't even going to bother trying to find Kreacher, the silence was much better than his incessant, insane ramblings and his bile.

Molly and the team had removed every trace of dust and Black memorabilia from the house, and though Sirius certainly appreciated the work they'd done, it had left him with absolutely nothing to occupy himself with. It was only a matter of time before he went absolutely mad trying not to think about what the rest of the Order was up to; fighting the great cause. Once or twice, he considered writing to Harry, but soon decided against it. Harry was back at Hogwarts, having fun, making the most of his youth. He didn't want to be bogged down by letter from a bored and frustrated Sirius; it would only make him worry.

As he made what felt like the twentieth cup of tea that day, Sirius thought back on the last few weeks he'd spent with his Godson, and he smiled a little as he wrapped his hands around the hot mug.

_It was a rare break in the oppressive heat of that summer, a few days after Harry's arrival at Grimmauld Place. It had taken Sirius what felt like half an age to find a time when Harry was not employed by Molly, and Sirius himself was not busy with members of the Order. Both therefore appreciated the calm of the early evening as they sat in the wide window seat in the living room of the old house. _

"_I used to spend hours in here when I was younger," Sirius had mused, only half watching the people milling about in the street, "just looking out and counting down to the day when I could get back to Hogwarts: to James and Remus and Peter."_

_He smiled wryly to himself as he thought how far away all that seemed, _

"_Yet here I still am." Sirius muttered, finally turning to face his godson, whose piercing green eyes were searching his face. _

"_I'm sorry I never could give you a proper home, Harry," he began, but Harry shook his head. _

"_It isn't your fault. Besides, I quite like it here. I don't have the memories you have, just my friends and the people I care about. At any rate, it's better than Privet Drive, or Azkaban, for that matter..." Harry tailed off, and for the first time since he had arrived at Grimmauld Place, Sirius could see how frightened Harry really was of the Ministry Hearing that loomed large over his summer. _

"_Harry..." Sirius began, desperately searching for something that would comfort the boy before him, "you know Dumbledore will never let that happen. Besides, it seems to me like you have inherited your father's knack for escaping authority. How he got away with so much I'll never know." _

_Sirius smiled, and the corner of Harry's mouth twitched slightly. Sirius decided this was a good sign and went on, _

"_I remember once, Merlin it seems a lifetime away, when the pair of us had snuck into the Trophy Room; this must have been sixth year, when the little Death Eaters in training were getting really unbearable. Well, anyway we were going to find Riddle's Special Award for Services to the School and change it to read "Lord Voldemort, Special Award for Services to Bigotry." It must have been the most worthwhile prank we pulled, Remus helped without complaining once. But of course, we ran into a spot of bother along the way, and it had to be Professor Cinlow who was patrolling the Trophy Room that night. Any other teacher probably would have let us get away with it, but he was a sympathiser, and a nasty one. Anyway, we heard Remus and Peter's warning signal and we sprinted for it to the nearest broom closet, which is-" _

"_Through the Quidditch section and then round the corner on the right." Harry finished for him, and Sirius grinned. _

"_Exactly. So we were running for it, and James had just rounded the corner ahead of me when Cinlow came up behind us and grabbed the back of my robes. I got a month of detention (although McGonagall got it down to a week in the end, Merlin bless that woman). I always thought he must have seen James, but he didn't ask any questions, just gave me a talking to and a load of detentions and buggered off back to whatever cave he lived in. So you'll be fine, Harry. Don't worry about it. Well, at least try not to worry about it." _

_Harry's answering smile was so like James's that for a moment, Sirius was taken aback. Half of him expected the boy to punch him on the arm and say, _

"_Me Padfoot? Worry? Come off it, I'm not Moony." _

_He didn't, of course. Instead, Harry simply muttered, _

"_Thanks, Sirius."_

Alone in the kitchen, Sirius looked at the clock: it was nearly one in the morning, and Sirius was about to resign himself to another restless night when he heard the front door open quietly.

He stood up quickly, drawing his wand as he moved soundlessly down the corridor. He rounded the corner sharply and gasped as he came face to face with Remus, who jumped away, placing his hand over his heart.

"Merlin's beard, Sirius. What on earth are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What are _you _doing sneaking about two days before I was expecting you back?" Sirius exclaimed, but he couldn't help the smile spreading over his face.

"There was a complication." Remus sighed, following Sirius back into the kitchen and collapsing into a chair, allowing Sirius to place a tumbler of Firewhisky in his hand.

"What kind of complication?" Sirius asked, sitting down opposite his friend who, upon closer inspection, looked drained both physically and emotionally.

"Darius is dead." Remus told him bluntly, taking a large gulp of Firewhisky and wincing slightly.

"_Dead?" _Sirius repeated, incredulous. "How? Did Greyback get to him?"

"In a way." Remus replied, heavily, "He took his own life. I knew it was a possibility when I met him, but I thought I was making it better. He was coming round, I could see it. But when I went to his flat this morning he was dead. Poison. There was a note on the floor beside him – from Greyback – telling him that if he didn't comply with their orders then they would hunt him down. He was so _young_, Sirius..."

Remus tailed off, and Sirius refilled his tumbler. It was with shaking hands that Remus lifted the glass to his mouth, and Sirius was lost for words.

"And no-one will report it. He'll just become another werewolf suicide to add to the statistics. No-one will accept that it's because of Voldemort, because of Greyback, and the Prophet will carry on smearing Dumbledore's name, and Harry's. This entire thing has been so bloody _pointless._" Remus continued; his body becoming tense where it had been sagging, his voice growing strong where it had been defeated. It shocked Sirius; he wasn't used to seeing Remus so angry. It had always been Sirius who raged against the world, and Remus who accepted it, continuing with that quiet dignity that Sirius was so in awe of.

"Remus, it's not the end of the world." He began, "I mean, we lost Darius, but there are others out there..."

"That's not the _point _Sirius." Remus growled, standing up and beginning to pace the kitchen, "You didn't see him: no older than Fred and George, never allowed to attend Hogwarts, dead before he could even- he just looked so _tiny_. Like a child, curled in on himself on the floor. Fuck."

Remus collapsed against the sink, bowing his head as he breathed slowly in and out, mastering himself once again.

"You're right, Remus. I didn't see it." Sirius ventured after a moment, "But look, you _tried_. You got to go out there and do something for the Order. You're _fighting _and I know how bloody hard that is but it's something. Merlin, it's something I wish I had."

When Remus turned to face him, his eyes were hard and cold.

"Yes Sirius, of course. It's a gift to witness a young man lying dead at his own hand. I should be thankful for the sleepless nights I will spend blaming myself for it. I am absolutely thrilled to be allowed to continue to fight, despite having lost the will a long time ago." He said evenly, walking straight past Sirius and out of the kitchen.

"Remus don't be ridi-" was all Sirius could get out before Remus was out of his sight.

Alone once again, Sirius could feel the anger building as he looked at the empty space Remus had occupied only moments before. He let out a frustrated yell as he aimed a kick at the kitchen cupboards and collapsed back into his chair, head in his hands. It was going to be a long night.

**_A/N - I know I don't deserve it but reviews would be nice. I don't know how I feel about this chapter, so I would like to hear your thoughts :) _**


	11. A Brief Respite

_**A/N - I know I know I know. I'm awful. I've had hideous writer's block on this story recently, but fear not. I actually have an idea for the next chapter! On the downside I am going away for two weeks, so it won't be up for a while, but I promise a quicker update next time! **_

_**Disclaimer: If I was making money off this, I'd be a better updater. **_

Stangely, it was Remus who first apologised the next morning. Wandering into the kitchen as Sirius was pouring the tea he said,

"I shouldn't have been so hard on you last night. Yesterday was very trying on me but that's no excuse, it's just difficult sometimes to appreciate that other people also suf-"

At that Sirius shook his head in disbelief and exclaimed,

"Don't be ridiculous, Remus. Just sit down and have some Goddmaned tea."

Remus smiled, sat, and they said no more about it.

The rest of the day was spent filling Sirius in on the finer points of Order work that tended to be skirted over in meetings, much to Sirius's chagrin.

"It's really much less exciting than it appears - I imagine the most dangerous job at the moment has fallen to me. Although no-one really knows what Dumbledore's been up to, and knowing him it'll be something far beyond what would usually be expected of a... how old is Dumbeldore anyway?"

"I've no idea." Sirius admitted with a shrug, "He's probably be around since the dawn of time, watching over us as the same siver haired old gent."

Remus chuckled,

"You know, I'm almost convinced. He's barely changed since we were at Hogwarts ourselves."

"What I wouldn't give to be back there." Sirius sighed, a small smile playing on his face as he remembered the lazy afternoons basking in the sunlight by the lakeside, sneaking through the castle in the dead of night, trying not to laugh as they heard Filch stagger past their hiding place, cursing their names. Remus smiled in return, but his eyes were sad.

"I wish Harry could hace had the same experiences, but every year it seems he has a heavier burden to carry. It's a wonder that he manages to pass his exams each year. Mind you, with James and Lily as his parents he certainly has an impressive level of natural talent to fall back on; for a thirteen year old boy, especially one who has known so little happiness, to produce a corporeal Patronus still astounds me to this day."

"I don't know why Molly still insists on treating him like a child. He's seen as much as any member of the Order (well, except perhaps old Mad-Eye) and a great deal more than some." Sirius griped.

"She's only trying to help, Sirius. She wants to keep him happy and safe, which few people truly appreciate is something that he really needs." Remus said patiently, "But I do agree it seems wrong. Tonks mentioned the other day that she felt it wasn't right for her to be able to know things about Harry's fate that he isn't allowed to know himself."

"She's got a wise head on her shoulders, that one, despite appearances." Sirius agreed, "But Dumbledore has his rules, even if they don't make much sense to us mere mortals."

Remus must have picked up on the bitterness in his tone, because he shook his head a little before asking,

"Have you spoken to Harry recently?"

"He sent me a letter a couple of weeks ago. You were away with Darius I think. He did well to avoid giving anything away to someone who could intercept it. Apparently the new Defence witch is 'almost as nice a s my Mum'." He chuckled to himself for a second, and Remus raised his eyebrows,

"Who is it?"

"Ministry hag, Umbridge. No doubt she'll be feeding Fudge reports of Harry's dangerous and unhinged behaviour. He's managed to get on her bad side already." Sirius told him, and Remus frowned,

"Umbridge? Not the one who got that werewolf employment legislation passed a couple years ago?" he exclaimed, and Sirius nodded solemnly.

"The very same."

"What was Dumbledore thinking? He must know she's an evil old hag with veiws imported from the Dark Ages, and Death Eater sympathies to boot." Remus raged, and Sirius was shocked at the venom in his voice,

"I doubt he had much of a choice. He has to play along with what Fudge wants if he doesn't want more slander in The Prophet." he explained.

"Looks like we're pretty trapped, doesn't it?" Remus sighed, running a nervous hand through his greying hair.

"Harry more than any of us. If only I could see him. If only I could meet him in Hogsmeade as Padfoot..."

"No, Sirius." Remus interrupted, a hardness in his voice that Sirius was now hearing with deressing frequency. "The last time you got out you were recognised. We don't need Harry getting into more trouble if he's seen with you, and we don't need you getting caught."

"That's what Harry said." Sirius spat, crossing his arms and hunching over in his chair.

"You've seen him?" Remus asked, and edge of panic in his voice.

"I flooed my head into the Gryffindor fireplace." Sirius said, silently daring Remus to chastise him, and though Remus had to draw a breath, closing his eyes for a moment, he did not protest, simply asked,

"And what in Merlin's name possessed you to do that?"

"I needed to speak with him face to face. I needed to see someone other than Kreacher." Sirius stated, "Though little good it did me."

Remus looked at him with curiosity and concern creasing his features,

"How can he look so like him and yet be so different?" Sirius muttered, and Remus seemed to stiffen.

"Because he isn't James, Sirius, not as you remember him. Perhaps you are choosing to remember James as he was at school, but he ceased to be that person long before he died. At fifteen, Harry is a much better man that James was at that age. I wouldn't resent that if I were you."

Sirius opened his mouth to argue, but found that he could find no challenge. Instead, he sighed,

"Do you never get tired of being right, Moony?"

"No, not really." Remus replied with a smirk, picking up the Prophet from the table and flicking it open.

"Now then, what tripe is being broadcast to the wizarding world this morning?"

"Let me guess: Dubledore has taken to wearing a Niffler as a hat, and is training Harry to impersonate and replace Fudge as our most illustrious leader, bowler hat and all?" Sirius suggested wryly,

"Almost word for word." smiled Remus.

Sirius was only allowed one day of company before Remus was sent on another mission, but the next Order meeting was the following evening, and Sirius was kept busy making sure the house was presentable, for although he was grateful that there had been no sign of Kreacher over the past few days, it meant that the house was growing dirter by the day. Molly would be appalled, he thought as he swept the crumbs off the kitchen counter with his wand. Sooner than expected, there came a soft knocking at the door.

"Wotcher, Sirius."

"Evening, Tonks. You're early." Sirius commented as he led her through to the kitchen.

"Yeah, thought I'd spend some quality time with my favourite cousin." she said with a grin, and Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"So Remus sent you, then?"

"Glad to see you appreciate it, and for your information, Remus has very little to do with anything. He mentioned that you'd been a little down recently, due to lack of company. I thought it might be nice if I came over a little early to see you." she replied tartly, but maintained her good natured smile.

"Oh. Sorry. Hello." Sirius muttered, but Tonks waved him off.

"You're lucky I don't take offence easily, and that's a rare trait in our family." she told him, pouring them a measure each of Firewhisky.

By the time the rest of the Order members had arrived, Sirius was in a surprisingly good mood, and even managed to smile at Snape as he stalked into the kitchen. The meeting that evening was mercifully short, with Sirius delivering the Darius story on Remus's behalf and Kingsley reporting on what exactly had gone wrong for Sturgis Podmore. Those members who been assigned guard duty in the next few weeks were advised to excercise "constant vigilence!"

Tonks, Emmeline and Kingsley were persuaded to stay for another hour after the rest of the Order had left, discussing where Sirius would like to be for the next few weeks, so Kingsley could misinform the Ministry.

"I always fancied Canada." Sirius mused, "Lots of wide open spaces and wildlife for Padfoot to hunt."

"Nah, the Canadian authorities are horribly vigilant. They'd be offended that we suggested such a thing and would put everything on hold to try to prove me wrong: which they then would." Kingsley pointed out, and his deep voice assured all of them that he must be absolutely right.

"Wasn't there a rumour that You-Know-Who was in Albania for a few years?" Emmeline suggested, "Might it not make sense for Sirius to be there, since he's so devoted to the Dark Lord?"

Sirius pretended to gag, but Tonks was nodding her approval,

"I think that sounds plausible."

"Albania it is, then." Kingsley agreed, "That is, if I can persuade Fudge to stop listening to Lucius Malfoy."

"And the Muggles think _they've _got a poor leader." Tonks sighed.

_**A/N - In all honesty, I don't really like this chapter. So if you did, then I'd be grateful to hear it. If you didn't, I completely understand and hope you stay with me! **_


	12. The Excursion

_**A/N - OK so I know this technically isn't a quick update but I was in Scotland for a week and a half so it feels like I've done well. I like this chapter, and I hope you do too! **_

_**Disclaimer: Once again I can't think of anything witty to say, and let's face it, if I owned these characters, I'd be smart enough to think of a witty disclaimer, even though I wouldn't need to use it. I'm babbling. Sorry. Story time. **_

On a cold morning at the end of October, Sirius walked into the kitchen to find an owl sitting on the kitchen table, apparently attempting to steal Remus's toast.

"A little help, Sirius?" Remus begged as he tried desperately to slap the owl away. Sirius chuckled,

"I'm not sure, mate. This is the most entertainment I've had in weeks."

Remus shot him a glare and continued to grapple with the bird. After a couple of minutes, Remus finally emerged victorious and sighed as he shoved the last of the toast into his mouth with one hand, whist fending the owl off with the other.

"D'you think he'll let you take your letter now?" Sirius asked with a grin, nodding to the letter strapped to the owl's leg.

"It's your bloody letter." Remus scowled as he gave the bird a slight push towards Sirius.

"Me? Good grief. Let's have a look then."

He (cautiously) unfurled the letter from around the owl's leg and broke the seal. It was in a familiar script, green and curling, that Sirius recognised immediately. He read the letter aloud,

"_Dear Sirius, _

_I hope that you are keeping yourself well, and that Remus is resting himself after his latest mission. _

_I'm sure you are aware that the purpose of this letter is simple: to counsel you against any further visits to the Gryffindor fireplace. I have managed to convince Professor Umbridge to look no further into her recent almost-discovery, but I am by no means confident that she is convinced by my explanations. Since owls are no longer entirely safe (this one is pet project of mine and beautifully trained) –_Remus scoffed – _I am truly sorry to have to ask that you do not attempt to communicate with Harry until he goes to the Burrow for Christmas. _

_Best Wishes, _

_APWBD" _

Sirius held the letter in his hand for a while, simply staring at it before he exclaimed,

"This is _ridiculous!" _

Remus said nothing in response, but attempted to look busy with the kettle.

"He's writing like I'm a _child_. As though I'd do something that stupid. Doesn't _anyone _have any faith in me? Molly doesn't even trust me to pass on a bloody _message_. I don't understand, Remus. What is it that I've done, exactly?" Sirius raged, crumpling the letter and throwing it into the fire.

Still Remus did not reply, but gave Sirius a sympathetic look. Sirius stormed out of the room, but quickly found that he had nowhere to go. Frustrated still further, he stalked into the living room and slammed the door behind him, throwing himself into an armchair and picking up the book he had discarded the previous night. The words on the page jumbled themselves and made no sense. Instead he decided he would visit Buckbeak, ignoring Remus when they passed each other in the hall. The feel of Buckbeak's feathers under his fingers was soothing, but Sirius knew he couldn't stay with the Hippogriff all day, so when he felt sufficiently calm, he went back to the living room in an attempt to distract himself.

By sunset, Sirius was still twitching. He could feel it in his every action. He'd shouted at Kreacher four times in the past hour, broken a teacup, and found himself unable to stop peeking out of the window into the street.

"Sirius would you just stay still for two seconds." Remus pleaded, curled up in an armchair attempting (not successfully, thanks to Sirius) to read. "Are you expecting company?"

"No." was Sirius's sullen reply, and Remus sighed.

"Do you want me to get you some more books?"

"Merlin's sake, Remus! I must have read everything in your library by now, and half of Andromeda's. I know this may seem shocking, but if I see another book I swear I will curse it to ashes."

"Perhaps you should try-" Remus started, but Sirius was having none of it. The twitching had gone, to be replaced with a frenzied anger that raised his voice to shout as he interrupted,

"I've tried everything! There is quite literally _nothing _left for me to occupy myself with and even if there was, I would be unable to concentrate on doing it, because I can't _breathe _in here."

The note of desperation must have been loud in his voice, because Remus made no reply for a moment, taking a deep breath frowning as though Sirius's words had given him much to think about. Eventually, he looked Sirius in the eye and said simply,

"That's it. We're going out."

Sirius gaped at him for a second, absolutely still for the first time in days.

"What?"

"We're going out. Now come along before I change my mind." Remus told him, walking briskly towards the back door with an expression Sirius hadn't seen in a long time. Remus's I-don't-think-this-is-a-good-idea-but-I'm-going-to-do-it-anyway tended to make an appearance in the days before the full moon at Hogwarts, when the four Marauders started planning their escapades for the coming night.

Sirius didn't hesitate to follow him to the back door, and though he didn't want to push his luck he had to ask,

"Why are you doing this, Remus?"

"Call it an act of faith." Remus replied with a grim smile. Sirius couldn't help a grin spreading over his face as he transformed into Padfoot, and Remus opened the door. The cold air felt fantastic as it struck him, and he bounded enthusiastically into the small garden. Remus followed as swiftly as he could and said,

"I'm going to take you somewhere you can run."

Unable Padfoot grinned as Remus took hold of the loose skin at the top of Padfoot's neck and span on the spot. After a few seconds of discomfort, they appeared in a clearing, surrounded by trees laced with autumnal leaves, some of which were heaped in piles on the floor of the forest.

"My grandparents had a cottage near these parts. Used to let me run about in these woods because there was no-one around. I thought it might be appropriate."

Padfoot barely allowed Remus to finish his sentence before he jumped up and licked his face. Remus groaned, but smiled as he wiped his face and watched Padfoot bound into the pile of leaves, scattering them through the clearing to float gently back to earth. Then he was off, racing through the trees as fast as his legs would take him, the ground hard but slightly yielding against his paws as he pushed against the earth to propel himself forward. The cold air was whistling in his ears and through his fur. His heighted senses could pick up Remus's woops of laughter in the distance, and smell the musty scent of the earth, mingled with traces of the animals that had followed this path before him. It was almost overwhelming.

He ran until his breath was coming in ragged gasps and his legs were burning. He collapsed in the long shadow of an oak that stood near the edge of the forest. There was a weak ray of winter sunlight streaming through the gaps in the trees and it warmed his skin, cold from the breeze as he ran. He was only settled for a few minutes before he heard Remus approaching quietly. He said nothing, but sat beside Padfoot, hands folded in his lap and his head resting against the trunk of the tree.

A rush of affection flooded through Padfoot, and he put a paw on Remus's leg, looking up at him with all the gratitude that his human self could never express.

"You're welcome, Padfoot." Remus smiled, ruffling the fur on top of Padfoot's head. Padfoot growled playfully, pulling away.

"We'll have to get back soon, the longer we stay away the larger the chance of someone popping in for a visit. We can't have that."

Padfoot whimpered slightly but made no protest as Remus stood and grasped the scruff of his neck once again, and they disappeared into the suffocating darkness. When they reappeared in the back garden of Grimmauld Place, the kitchen light was on.

Sirius transformed back into his human self to ask,

"Did you leave the light on when we left?"

The terrified look on Remus's face told him that he had not. Sirius shook his head and clapped Remus on the shoulder,

"Don't panic. It's probably just Tonks, and she'd never sell us out. It'll be fine. It could even be Kreacher, or Dung – though I wouldn't put it past him to blackmail us…"

"Shut up, Sirius." Remus hissed, taking a deep breath as he began to walk towards the back door. He paused for a second with his hand on the doorknob, as if collecting himself. Sirius tried not to feel guilty as anticipation thrilled through his veins; although for Remus's sake he hoped it was merely the House Elf or Tonks, part of him enjoyed the excitement of possibly being caught that he hadn't experienced since his Hogwarts days.

But as the door opened and a pair of twinkling blue eyes looked calmly across the kitchen table at them, Sirius's heart dropped into his stomach.

"So tell me, are these little jaunts a regular occurrence or have I had the misfortune to call during your only excursion into the outside world?" Dumbledore asked.

_**A/N - Look I did a cliffhanger! As always I would love if you would review :)**_


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